The Bet
by Indigo Fly
Summary: Natsume is your typical, cold-hearted playboy. But when he makes a bet with his friends that he can stick with a girl for two weeks, he finds it harder than it seems, especially since she is just as stubborn as he is, and he's falling fast. NxM HxR KxS
1. Beginnings

I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. But a girl can dream…

**The Bet**

**By Claire-ify**

**Chapter 1: Beginnings**

A young woman woke up to the sound of rustling cloth. As she took in her surroundings, she realized that the noise was coming from the man who spent last night with her. He was lean but had a muscular body accompanied by tanned skin. His spiked, dark hair fell into place as he ran a hand through it. The woman felt her breathe hitch in her throat when those gorgeous, crimson eyes bore through hers. It took a moment for her to realize that her amazing boyfriend of two days was leaving.

She smiled. "Oh, are you getting coffee? How sweet! I'll have a-"

"Are you stupid or something?" he interrupted her with a hurtful glare.

The woman blinked. "Huh?" Why was he so different? What happened to the charming man from the past two days? He was always cold, but not this cold.

"So that's a yes, then. Listen, I'll make this simple for you. We are not a couple. Just because I slept with you for two days, doesn't mean I'm your pathetic boyfriend willing to be at your beck and call. You mean next to nothing to me." He said all of these horrible words in a monotone voice. It seemed as if he were used to this speech.

Tears sprung to the woman's eyes. She felt her heart shatter in the hands of this man who she thought was the one. "But why?" she sobbed, " I thought we looked so good together! How could you do this to me, Natsume!" she screamed as she brought her hands to her face.

The man identified as Natsume merely sighed and walked to the door. When his hand grasped the doorknob he stopped. "I don't normally do this but," he turned to face her, his hand still on the doorknob, "Do you really want to know why I'm ending this?"

The young woman, still sobbing, nodded vigorously.

"You annoy me." he said, matter-of-factly. She let out a strangled cry. "You're materialistic. All you think about is yourself. Not to mention you're a gold digger. I bet you'd marry an old geezer if he promised you riches and a big house, right?" He didn't wait for an answer. "To tell you the truth, the only thing I like about you was your body." Natsume opened the door. Before he left the hysterical woman's apartment for good, he told her one more thing. "You're not for me, so stop crying, Luna," and he walked the rest of the way out of the building without so much as a second thought about the broken-hearted woman he so cruelly left behind.

It wasn't as if this was the first time he's done such a thing, not at all. In fact, he had done this so many times with countless women, that he began to wonder if maybe it had lost some of its fun.

* * *

><p>In front of an impressive-looking building, a young woman of 24 years walked down the street with a very calm and content smile on her face. She was thin and a little on the short side, but had long, luscious hair with different shades of brown highlighting it. Her eyes were wide and held way too much innocence for someone who saw as much as she did. Her name was Mikan Sakura.<p>

She smiled as she looked at the sky. _Today's going to be a beautiful day, I can tell,_ she thought.

Her thoughts drifted until it reached her painful past. By the time Mikan realized it, she couldn't stop the memories that engulfed her into depression once more.

It all started when she was ten and her best friend, Hotaru, had been taken from the very academy that she had been fleeing all her life. Hotaru and her had been very close and were more like sisters, even though Hotaru didn't show her feelings for Mikan very much…or at all. Still, it broke her heart when she learned that Hotaru was leaving her for the academy _willingly_.

Her mother, Yuka, had escaped the academy when she was still a student and had told her about all the horrors of the school. Her mom had promised to protect her from Alice Academy as long she could. Mikan remembered how she never said the word death, because in their world, death was a big possibility and speaking of it so carelessly was not appreciated.

Mikan remembered how, after Hotaru had left and the dangers of being wanted by Alice Academy increased, she had become cold and cruel. She was ruthless and merciless when it came to defeating her enemies and did whatever she could to help protect her mother. She was feared by so many.

It wasn't until the death of her mother a few years later that she changed back to her old self, to the person she was today.

Two years ago, she sat beside her mother's unmoving body behind an old, rundown warehouse, crying out her soul from the unfairness of it all. Her mother had been hit by several bullets and was minutes away from death. There was nothing Mikan could do. That fact alone made her cry even harder. Mikan remembered her mother opening her eyes slightly and saying, "Mikan, why are you crying, baby girl? I like it so much better when you smile. With your smile, you have the power to warm the hearts of all those who have forgotten how to… Including me. So, my little angel, I want you to smile more, like you always used to before Hotaru left. I don't like seeing you like this, all sad and much too independent. Sometimes you have to rely on others, baby girl. So be happy, like you used to be. I just want to see one more smile before I leave." It took a few tries before Mikan could manage to smile a big, full out smile so that her mother could die a happy woman. But she did; Yuka had died with a smile.

Mikan spent a lot of her mother's savings so that she could be buried next to her father's grave. A few days after her funeral, Mikan was captured and taken to Alice Academy. It was there that her spirit had officially come back, for she had been reunited with Hotaru, and befriended two others: Sumire Shouda, a sassy, green-eyed girl who had stayed at the academy to support Hotaru, and Misaki Harada, an up-beat, determined girl a few years older than them who was, like them, a teacher.

None of them wanted to be there. It was horrible with all the missions and what-not, so Mikan had blackmailed the Elementary School Principal and got all of her friends out of the school with both the money they earned and the money another teacher, Narumi, had given them, which was _a lot. _They had left as soon as they said good bye to the children.

The four girls had paired up with each other and bought condos in buildings right across each other (it was the closest they could get to each other). Sumire was paired with Misaki, since they had a special relationship, and Mikan felt it was only right that she shared a condo with Hotaru, considering their history and everything. Within two weeks, they had all settled in and had gotten real jobs. But best of all, they were happy and that was all Mikan could ask for.

Mikan rounded another corner and faced her bakery. It was built in an old fashioned style and was decorated with red and blue trimmings which stood out against the calm yellow of the walls. The small building had a window that displayed all sorts of different kinds of candy and baked goods. Above the window was a sign with intricately painted writing that read, _Sakura's Bakery: Sweets and Wonders. _Mikan stepped into the shop. The tinkling bell sounded when she opened the door.

Her bakery didn't have the 'wonder' part of its name until Anna started working as a chef there. Anna had the cooking alice which enabled her to make weird/cool/amazing things that she cooked. She was also a classmate of Hotaru and Sumire. Anna was a very sweet girl and her personality matched her cooking skills. Because of this, she and Mikan had immediately hit it off. Mikan never made any big decisions without her consent.

"Anna, I'm here!" Mikan called out with cupped hands around her mouth. "Sorry if I'm late!" She waited for the flour-covered girl to come out of the kitchen to greet her. She walked behind the counter.

As expected, Anna walked out of the swinging kitchen door holding a large, silver bowl with steaming purple dough (at least, that's what Mikan hoped it was) bubbling inside it. Her curly, pink hair was dusted with flour, as was her apron and clothes. "No problem," Anna said. Her crystal, blue eyes shone mischievously. "Did you meet someone on the way here? Perhaps a _male_ someone?"

"Ugh, will you just leave me alone about the whole boyfriend thing?," Mikan said after her eyebrow was finished twitching. "I don't want a guy right now. I'm perfectly capable-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself and have been doing so for years." Anna finished. She sighed. "Mikan, having a boyfriend isn't just about having someone around to take care of you. It's-"

"Hey guys, I'm back from my mom's!" announced a dark blue-haired girl. It was Nonoko, Anna's best friend from Alice Academy. She had midnight coloured eyes that matched her straight hair. Nonoko sometimes helped out at _Sakura's Bakery_ to spend time with Anna and Mikan, but had a real job as a chemist, which suited her alice (alice of chemistry) perfectly.

"Nonoko! I'm so glad that you're back. Putting up with the boy-obsessed freak over here was really starting to wear me out," Mikan said as she returned Nonoko's hug.

"Hey, what about me?" Anna asked as she put down the large bowl and moved to hug the two as well.

She let out a disappointed sigh. "Come one, I'm not _that_ dirty," she said after she crossed her arms and glared at them.

"Yes, you are. You're covered in purple-god-knows-what. You're filthy," replied Nonoko simply.

Mikan giggled. "You sound just like Hotaru when I try to touch her." All three of them laughed at that. Everyone knew that no one could be like Hotaru. "Oh!" Mikan exclaimed. "Sorry, but I have to deliver a few things to Grandpa and Misaki. Nonoko, could you please work the counter?' she asked, gesturing to the two packages to her right.

"That's what I'm here for," was the reply.

"Thanks. I don't know what I would've done without you two," Mikan said gratefully.

"Hire new employees?" suggested Anna, earning a laugh from everyone. It was a known fact that many people wanted to work at _Sakura's Bakery_ because of the great pay and thrill of seeing Anna's creations and Nonoko's experiments with chemicals on her free time.

"I'll be back in and hour or so," Mikan said as she picked up a small package, "and _please_ do _not_ set the place on fire while I'm gone this time, okay?" She glared at the two shrinking figures.

"It was an accident… I said I was sorry…" mumbled a flushed Anna.

"It was just a few experiments gone wrong… Only happened once or twice." Nonoko was defensive again.

Mikan just laughed and waved good bye. Once she was outside, she shifted the package to a more comfortable position, then began the short walk to her grandpa's apartment.

* * *

><p>"I already told you, I don't need a husband <em>or<em> a boyfriend," Mikan told Grandpa with an exasperated sigh. What was with everyone and telling her to go and get hitched? She was just fine by herself and all of her friends.

"Mikan, sweety, I know you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself and have been doing so for years," Grandpa started.

Mikan's eyebrows wrinkled together. Did she really say it _that _often?

"And I know that you say you're not lonely. But I've known you for years. I see the way you stare out into space and I know that you're thinking about you're mother. Hotaru has also told me that she's noticed you looking at small children with a 'disgustingly sad' look on your face."

_Good-for-nothing traitor,_ she thought. When exactly did Hotaru start talking with_ her_ Grandpa anyways?

"Mikan." His voice interrupted her thoughts. "Do you want a child?"

She couldn't lie to him. She could never lie to her grandpa. "Okay, fine! So what if I want a child? It's natural for a woman to wish for children," Mikan fumed, 'And it's only 'cause I've wanted a family of my own since Mom died… A _real_ family…" she trailed off.

_Damnit, he won again. I hate how easily he and Hotaru can read me,_ she thought bitterly. Mikan looked up to see Grandpa's sympathetic face staring down at her. She sighed at the unnerving feeling of emotions tumbling inside of her. Yes, she was a little lonely, but that was to be expected, right?

"Look Grandpa, I just came here to bring you some candy, I didn't come here for-" Mikan cut off. She forgot the candy Misaki had bought back at the bakery. "Crap, I gotta go, Grandpa. I forgot something back at the bakery." She kissed his cheek and fled out the door, missing her grandpa shaking his head at her forgetfulness.

As Mikan sped through the streets, she had no idea how one stupid crack in one stupid sidewalk was going to cause her a lot of heartache…And something else, too.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> So what do you think of my first story? RxR and tell me what you think ;) Though I'm pretty sure who's gonna be one of the first to review...

*cough* XxfreedreamerxX *cough cough*


	2. First Impressions

**Chapter Two: First Impressions**

Natsume strode through the packed streets with a scowl on his face. It wasn't that he was angry, he was actually in a pretty good mood, Natsume just always had a scowl on his face. It was just something he did since he was a child.

_Speaking of children, _Natsume thought as he entered a schoolyard full of cheerful, screaming children, all but one, that is. The only boy who stood dutifully by the wall and watched other children play with a bored expression was a popular gossip topic with the mothers around here. He was an alice. He had a dangerous alice, as well. His unique ability to control evil spirits spread fear to those who knew him, making him very lonely. His name was Youichi and he was Natsume's nephew.

"Youichi, we're going," Natsume called out. His nephew smiled and immediately ran to him. Natsume grinned as Youichi clung to his leg. Youichi was one of the only people who could ever make Nastume smile so effortlessly.

"Yes, Uncle Natsume," replied Youichi. Natsume reached down and took his 4-year-old nephew's hand and walked off, earning more dreamy sighs from the gossipy mothers by the swing set.

Natsume ignored the stares. He always did, unless he was in a bad mood or one of the staring girls were actually interesting (and by interesting, he meant good-looking).

"Uncle Natsume," said Youichi, "More bad guys came to get me yesterday." Natsume froze and looked at him with worried eyes. Youichi didn't notice. "They had scary black masks on and there were… Four of them, I think," he rambled on about what they looked at, not knowing that the more he spoke, the more furious Natsume became. "I don't want to go to Alice Academy, Uncle." he finished quietly.

Natsume frowned. He crouched down so that he was nearly at the same height as Youichi. "Youichi, I promise that I will never let them take you away, as long as I can. So don't be afraid anymore, okay?" He knew that there was only so much he could do to protect him, but also knew that it would reassure Youichi and ease him greatly. But he would truly try his best to keep his promise. He would do anything to protect his nephew.

The pair continued walking down the cluttered street. Natsume listened as Youichi told him a bit about his day like any other kid. As he was just about to reply to him, he felt something collide into his chest. He released Youichi's hand as he and the thing that hit him fell and tumbled to the ground. Natsume opened his eyes and took in everything at once. His back and butt were both sore and ached horribly. The thing that had bumped into was a person-a girl, actually. And most horribly, everyone nearby was staring at. Some people were even laughing.

Humiliated and enraged, Natsume roughly pushed the girl off of him and stood up. "You hopeless bitch. Can't you even walk properly?" He glared at her. "I've met three-legged dogs who walk with more skill _and_ grace than you," he said, furious. Never in his life had he been so embarrassed. He had never fallen backwards so clumsily before.

He supposed that he had encouraged Youichi to get mad at her, too, for the small boy walked up to the girl and said, "Idiot." Natsume nodded his head in approval.

Natsume grabbed Youichi's hand and was about to leave the stupid girl in her misery when the young woman raised her head, revealing two vicious-looking eyes.

"Who the _hell_ do you think you are!" she spat angrily.

Natsume would've replied but he was too captivated by her face to do or say anything smart.

"You don't just call people bitches and make fun of them because they bumped into you, you bastard. I'm sorry for tripping and bringing you down with me and everything, but that's it."

He wasn't listening. Natsume was too busy watching how her soft curls bounced when she made the slightest movement and how nicely her bangs framed her face. It was like they molded themselves around her perfectly heart-shaped face. The girl's eyes looked so spectacularly fierce, Natsume thought he could look into them forever.

"And what about your kid! Do you think you're being a good role model for him? I really do hope he doesn't grow up to be as rude and inconsiderate as you." She crossed her arms and turned to walk away.

Natsume was surprised. No girl had ever gotten this angry at him, even if he deserved it. Shockingly, he liked it. It was refreshing to finally have met someone who'd yell his ear off without a second thought. Plus, she was cute when she got mad.

As she started to walk away, Natsume knew he couldn't let her have the last word. No matter how cute she was, his pride wouldn't allow it. He said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Well it's about time."

He knew it was worth it when she froze and abruptly turned to look at him with a confused expression. Smirking, Natsume turned and walked away, pulling Youichi with him. The crowd made way for them, apparently impressed and amused at the sudden turn of events. Everyone expected the girl to collapse and cry. Well she sure shocked them, she barely even blushed at the special (however unpleasant) attention Natsume was giving her.

Natsume grinned, remembering her hilarious expression at what he said. He certainly wouldn't mind bumping into her again.

Youichi suddenly grabbed Natsume's pant leg and tugged. Natsume looked down. Youichi was pointing to an old fashioned bakery called, _Sakura's Bakery_. There was a window with a wide assortment of baked goods and sweets. Strangely, the stuff that the bakery sold were things that one could only find in Central Town in Alice Academy.

Natsume decided to check it out. "You want to go in there, Youichi?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. Sure enough, Youichi nodded. "Alright, let's go, then." So the two headed towards the famed bakery, both for completely different reasons.

* * *

><p><em>Sakura's Bakery<em> was bigger than anyone could expect. It was _huge._ The store was packed with goggling customers pointing at cakes, cookies, and other things that Natsume wasn't even sure had normal names. Everything here was beyond strange.

Some pastries giggled while you ate them, but others just got mad and would try to bite you back. Natsume winced when one bit him after he tried it as a free sample. He found some orange cookies that asked him about his day and wondered if there was anything they could do to comfort him. Youichi discovered candy canes that sang Christmas songs and a few even brought out presents to give to him when he smiled. Another weird thing they sold was a cake that re-grew when you bit out of it. In front of it was a sign that read, _I'm happy to be eaten over and over again, but please understand that I expire after one month and am not immortal. _It seemed that most foods had signs similar to this one.

Natsume had to admit that he was impressed by the western-styled ginger bread village. There were about five housed-all different-which hosted a few ginger bread men/women each. There were even candy gardens and backyards. The ginger bread people walked around, wore clothes, talked, and basically lived normal human lives. Natsume overheard one ginger bread man trying to lead a revolution against the humans, which they called 'biggins." Natsume guessed that it had something to do with their size compared to the palm-sized ginger bread men.

"I'm telling you, those biggins are going to kill us all!" the crazed cookie claimed.

Another ginger bread person (a girl, apparently) sighed dramatically. "Come on, Gramps, no one is going to eat us. Just go back inside and stop thinking before you hurt yourself."

Natsume dragged Youichi away from the village. He snatched some sample candy of a chocolate train that circulated the bakery and gave them to Youichi.

They continued to roam around the shop for about half an hour until a large series of shelves behind the counter caught Natsume's eyes. Stacked on the grand shelves were red boxes in three different sizes and tied with pink ribbons. There was a sign above them, too.

_Howalons._

He remembered them from Central Town in Alice Academy. The soft, fluffy pink candies were one of the only things he actually _liked_ at that stupid school. How could this bakery have the recipe to make Howalons? How in the hell do the bakers even make all these things that they sell here?

_There must be an alice working here,_ though Natsume. It was the only explanation. He wanted to find out who it was, even though he already had a feeling who.

"Youichi, I'm going to buy you the best candy I've ever tasted." With that, he took Youichi and waited in the long line up at the cashier.

When they finally reached the cashier, Natsume's eyes widened in surprise. Standing right in front of him was Nonoko, a girl who went to school with him since he was taken there. Unlike most people, Nonoko didn't annoy him especially, so he didn't mind her company too much. What he did mind, however, was how she was here, working at a bakery and not at some lab, doing some sort of experiment and making fluorescent coloured liquids sing.

"Natsume!" she greeted. "I haven't seen you in years. How are you?"

"What are you doing here? This place doesn't fit you." he said, having no need for pointless welcomes.

Nonoko laughed. "I know what you're thinking, but I only work here on my spare time or when I feel like it. I'm actually a chemist. I just come to_ Sakura's Bakery_ because Anna and Mikan work here."

So it was Anna who was making all this food. _I knew it_, Natsume smirked victoriously. He was rarely wrong. "I'll take a small box of Howalon and this damn candy cane Youichi has here."

Nonoko smiled. "I knew you'd buy Howalon. How Anna figured out the recipe is still a mystery to me." She crossed her arms and thought for a few seconds. "Okay, that will be 1 850 yen. Sorry about the price, but this stuff costs a fortune compared to other sweets," she said.

Natsume shrugged and handed her a credit card.

"Sorry, our cash register caught fire the other day and broke. We don't get a new one until tomorrow morning," Nonoko said apologetically. She also seemed a bit embarrassed, but he just figured that _she _was responsible for the broken cash register.

"Fine, then I'll come back later to give you the money I owe you." he said with a careless wave of his hand. He didn't carry around _that_ much change.

"We don't do that anymore because Mikan trusted some guy and he practically robbed us 50 000 yen. She was devastated."

Natsume looked down at Youichi. He had a disappointed look on his small face. Youichi looked up at Natsume hopefully. "I'll do whatever you want, just give Youichi the damn Howalon."

"I'm sorry but I-"

"Hey Nonoko. I forgot Misaki's candy box for her kids. How are you holding up?" a feminine voice came up from behind him. Natsume didn't bother to turn around to see who it was, though; he was already preoccupied.

Nonoko laughed, "Don't you always forget something? But good timing, my friend over here wants to buy some Howalon but doesn't have enough 'change' on him to do so. He says if we let him have the candy now, he'll come back later and give us the money," she finished. "So, what do you think, Mikan?"

Natsume heard 'Mikan' walk up from behind him. "I don't know…" she said, uncertainly. "You remember what happened the last time I did that for a customer." Her voice was familiar…_Very_ familiar…

"But I've known Natsume for years," Nonoko protested, "and when he says he'll do something, he _will_ do it." She cupped a hand to her mouth and whispered, "Plus, I know he's got a lot of money, so that's not an issue."

Curiosity finally got the better of him. He turned around to see just who 'Mikan' was. He took an abrupt step back, accidentally dragging Youichi with him. He knew her. She was the cute girl from earlier today, the one who actually yelled at him. Mikan was the one who had so effortlessly captured his attention while other women tried their best for just a _glance _from him.

Apparently, Mikan recognized him, too, because she jumped back and pointed at him, shouting, "You!"

Silence filled the bakery. Nonoko and Youichi looked back and forth from Mikan to Natsume.

"You two," began Nonoko, "know each other?"

"You're that asshole from before!" Mikan glared accusingly at Natsume.

He just smirked and replied, "And you're that polka-dotted one from earlier."

Mikan blinked in confusion. Rolling his eyes, Natsume looked down pointedly at her waist. Her eyes followed his.

The girl gasped. "You saw my underwear! You moronic pervert!" Mikan ran behind the counter and hugged an uncomfortable-looking Nonoko, who awkwardly patted her back.

Natsume snorted. "You should consider yourself lucky, most girls dream about talking to me, yet you're here whining about it."

"_I am not whining!"_

"Tch." Natsume stubbornly turned his head away from the two girls.

"That's it, no candy for you!" Mikan snatched away the small box of Howalon. She grinned victoriously at Natsume who scowled.

_Maybe pissing her off wasn't the best idea… _He winced when he saw Youichi's heartbroken expression. Natsume squeezed his hand comfortingly. Youichi looked at Mikan in despair.

Mikan's eyes widened. She watched Youichi's expression as he looked down sadly. Mikan sighed. She went to the shelf and put back the Howalon box. Natsume's frown deepened. She then moved over and grabbed the biggest Howalon box she could find and walked over to Youichi.

"Here you go." Mikan bent down and gave Youichi the box of Howalon. "It's the least I can do after upsetting you. Consider this an apology gift." She noticed the candy cane in his hand and laughed. "You can keep that, too. It seems to have become attatched to you."

Youichi opened the box of Howalon. He marveled at the sight of the fluffy, pink puffs and quickly put one in his mouth. Natsume smiled slightly as Youichi's face flushed with happiness and he beamed.

Surprising everyone, Youichi stood on his tip toes and gave Mikan a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Auntie," he said cutely. Natsume raised his eyebrows. Youichi had never called any girl 'Auntie' before.

Mikan blushed and gave him a hug. "You're very welcome." She stood up and added, "You can come here whenever you like, I'll always have something special for you, okay?"

Natsume saw Youichi smile once more. He hadn't smiled this much in a long time. That settled it. Natsume was _definitely _bringing him here more often.

"Thank you, Polka-dots," said Natsume. He nodded to Nonoko and left with Youichi, but not before he smirked at Mikan's scowl.

* * *

><p>On the way to his apartment, Natsume asked Youichi, "Why did you call that girl 'Auntie?'"<p>

Youichi looked at him and said in a monotone voice, "Because one day she will be, Uncle Natsume. She will be my Auntie."

Natsume looked at him confusedly, but shrugged and quickened their pace. He would let him think that if he wanted, because he was quite sure that that would not happen.

Natsume unlocked his door and stepped inside. He let go of Youichi's hand and let him go to the tow room he had had built just for him. Natsume personally never really entered that room, unless it was to drag Youichi out of it.

He walked into the living room and was about to plop down on the couch when he noticed it was already occupied-by his four stupid friends.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Natsume demanded. He knew he shouldn't have given Ruka that spare key.

"Natsume," Yuu began after a few moments of silence, "You know we all care about you."

Ruka nodded. "We only want wants best for you."

His other friend, Tsubasa, joined in. "That's why we're all here."

"Except me," commented Koko, "I just wanted to see how all this turned out."

"What the hell is this? An_ intervention?"_ Natsume was astounded. All his friends nodded solemnly. "What the fuck about then?" he asked after he sat on the other sofa.

"It's about the way you treat woman." Ruka was looking at him with those stupid blue eyes of his that always had the ability to make him feel guilty.

"They are not objects, Natsume. You can't just pick them up and drop them whenever you feel like it. Not only is it barely human, but it's not good for you to be like this." Yuu criticized.

Natsume rolled his eyes. Yuu had always nagged him about his treatment of women. "Why do you guys even care? It's not like I'm hurting any of you," he argued.

"We just think that you'd be happier if you were with someone who genuinely cares about you just as much as you care about her," reasoned Tsubasa. Natsume just wanted to rip that damn, blue hair right off of his stupid fat head.

"I don't need anyone like that. I'm fine like this." Natsume retorted gruffly.

Koko grinned slyly. "He probably doesn't think he can handle the same girl for the rest of his life, let alone a couple of weeks."

Tsubasa caught on. "Oh yes, that's right. I don't even think he can pull that off _without_ cheating on her."

"And that means no kissing or sleeping with other girls. It'll be just you and her," Ruka finished with a mischievous grin. He flipped his blonde hair to the side.

"Stop playing with your hair, you gay perv," Natsume told Ruka, who scowled.

But the scowl vanished and was replaced with a smile. "So basically you're admitting that you can't stick with the same girl for a couple of weeks."

Koko laughed, "I told you. I bet he's afraid of commitment."

Tsubasa looked at Natsume. "So it's true, then? You are afraid of commitment. Or maybe it's just women in particular…If you just like the sex, maybe you should stick with men, like our old friend Narumi," he taunted.

"THAT'S IT!" Natsume roared. "I'm not afraid of commitment or women and I'll prove it." He sighed. "I'll stick with one woman for two weeks."

Ruka nodded. "And you have to be faithful. So that means no making out with other women or anything."

Tsubasa said, "And _we_ get to pick the target for you to date. Who knows? Maybe you'll end up being as happy with her as I am with Misaki," he added with a wink. "So, who should we pick as the target?"

"I'm kind of against all this…But if it's just to make Natsume stay with the same girl…" Yuu was brutally ignored.

Koko took one long stare at Natsume and grinned. "I know _exactly_ who the target is."

"Who?" Ruka and Tsubasa asked.

"The girl from the bakery who is supposedly so 'frustratingly cute.'"

This resulted in Natsume hitting Koko over the head several times for reading his mind and telling everyone about it. Before he knew it, everyone (besides Koko who was groaning in pain on the ground) was surrounding him, asking him questions.

"Is this true?"

"It probably is, since he hit Koko so hard."

"Do you really like her?"

"What's she like? She must be something special to have caught your attention."

"What's her name?"

"Mikan…" Koko managed to say from the ground.

_**WHACK!**_

Natsume growled at Koko. "I thought you would've learnt your lesson by now, idiotic bastard."

"Mikan, eh?" Tsubasa rubbed his chin. "Hmm…I think we should meet her one day. What do you think guys?"

Ruka and Yuu nodded their agreement.

"Then it's settled,' Ruka concluded. "Natsume, you're going to ask Mikan out and make her your official girlfriend for the next two weeks. I don't care how long it takes to get her to go out with you, but the bet doesn't start until the day of the first date."

Natsume glared him and stormed out of the room.

Ruka chuckled. "It's gonna be a _hell_ of a two weeks. This is going to be good."

At that moment, he didn't know just how right he was, and just how hellish the next two weeks would really be.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em>** It's done! Plus, it's way longer, too, so I hope that'll make you happy. P.S. Sorry for the harsh homosexual comment. There might be a few more things like that. I remebered that I forgot to edit my writing and found a few spelling and grammar mistakes. I also changed Kitsu to Narumi, I figured that would fit a lot better. There might be more changes like that in the future.

I want to thank

xxCRIMSONCHERRYxx (Don't worry, I don't intend on being that mean to Mikan)

MEOWsasha

nikiluvsyou

Claerine (I hope this chapter answered your question)

Rinchan24

XxfreedreamerxX

and finally,

DAngelHime

for reviewing my first chapter. Thanks guys! I take all of you're reviews and suggestion into consideration ;) I'll probably update the next chapter in a few days. ENJOY!


	3. Convincing

**Chapter Three: Convincing**

"I'm telling you, they're exactly same as when they were when we were still in Alice Academy," Misaki cleaned up paint on the ground as she was telling Tsubasa more about their 'little kids.' She scrubbed harder when she reached a more…'colourful' part of the mess.

Tsubasa and her were both elementary teachers at a very prestigious school. Misaki had always loved children and had applied here a few weeks ago. When Tsubasa had found out that she was applying to the same school that he taught at, he made sure that she got the job. She was very grateful and happy that they could rekindle their love so quickly after being separated for so many years (Misaki had stayed at Alice Academy to watch over Hotaru and Sumire).

"Hotaru is still as robotic and cruel as ever and Sumire's just as bossy as before, if not more. They were especially moody 'till Mikan came with her upbeat attitude and cheerful nature. I admit, I was kinda weirded out when she hugged Hotaru and she didn't bother pulling Mikan off of herself. Apparently, before Hotaru arrived at Alice Academy the two of them were best friends. Still are, in fact," Misaki sighed. "What about our little men? How are they holding up?"

Tsubasa laughed, "They haven't changed much either. Koko is still the pesky mind-reader that you remember from before. He especially like pissing Natsume off by reading his mind and blurting everything out. Do you remember Yuu?"

Misaki nodded anxiously.

"Yeah, he's still a bit on the spineless side but never hesitates to tell people when they're doing something wrong. I swear, he's like our mother." Tsubasa chuckled as he remembered yesterday's events. "He especially enjoys lecturing Natsume about his womanizing antics. It's really funny."

"What about Ruka and Natsume? Are they still the same?" She looked up at him before asking, "They're still best friends, right?"

"Of course. Ruka's the only one who can make Natsume actually think before he does something that will probably hurt someone's feelings. He seems to do that a lot. Ruka doesn't get as embarrassed as easily as he used to, but he still has some school boy moments. Natsume's a bit different, though," Tsubasa confessed sadly. "I don't know the exact reason why, but I think it has something to do with his woman troubles."

Misaki was confused. "What woman troubles? From what you've told me, he can get any woman he wants!"

Tsubasa shook his head. "That's just the thing: He can get any woman he wants without even having to _try_. And he hates it." He sighed and leaned against the wall behind him. He stared at the ceiling. "I don't know the exact reason, but Ruka told me that he's always wanted to make a family of his own."

"Really?" Misaki looked up at her boyfriend, stunned. She had always thought that Natsume would be the last person to want a family, let alone the _most_. Misaki told her thoughts to Tsubasa, who just nodded to things he agreed to, as well. "And I always thought that he enjoyed his playboy life!" she finished with a great intake of air.

"The guys and I suppose that he only likes the sex," he explained with a melancholic voice. Tsubasa stepped away from the wall and crouched down to Misaki's current height. "If you want to know more, you should ask Ruka, he knows Natsume better than anyone. But it looks to me," he added in a low voice, "that every time he comes back from a girl's house, he's satisfied but each and every time Natsume spaces out and has this unbearably depressed look on his face."

"But…Why?"

"Because each time he's with another girl, it's always the same: They fawn over him, his looks, his 'bad boy' personality and his money. And each time he's with a girl who treats him like that-which is every time- I guess it's like a slap to the face. Because there's a big chance that he will never find someone who can make him fall in love with her to start a family. And it kills him."

The two were silent for a good amount of time.

Misaki was flabbergasted. She never knew any of this. She had always thought that Natsume was what he seemed: a mysterious, cold hearted playboy. But now…

"Sorry I didn't come yesterday, Misaki!" A cheerfully loud voice shook her from her thoughts. "I forgot the candy at the bakery again so I had to run back and get it. By the time I got here, I realized that school was already over so I had to come here today."

Misaki and Tsubasa turned to see a brunette walking towards them holding a large box of candy. Before they could reply, the clumsy girl tripped and began to fall towards the cold, hard ground.

Tsubasa leapt forward, caught her shadow, and stopped the girl in mid-air from falling to the ground.

Misaki cloned herself and, with the help of her doppelgangers, caught all the candy and treats from falling to the ground.

A roar of applause sounded from around them. The three adults focused their attention on the crowd of clapping, laughing kids.

"That was funny!"

"So cool!"

"I want to learn how to do that, too!"

The Misakis laughed and put the candy back into the box. The doppelgangers disappeared in a puff of pink smoke. More clapping. "Okay kids, line up and pick _one_ candy each from the box."

The school children obeyed her happily, for even one treat was enough if it was from _Sakura's Bakery_. As they 'ooed' and 'aahed' over the candy they chose, Tsubasa helped the troublesome idiot from the…air…

"I would appreciate it if you reframed from hurting yourself whenever you come here," Tsubasa said with half-lidded eyes. "You're a walking hazard, Mikan." He laughed playfully.

Mikan frowned and flicked Tsubasa's forehead.

"But at least you make the kids laugh." Misaki said after laughing at Tsubasa.

"It's not my fault that I'm clumsy. It just sort of…happens…" Mikan struggled to find another excuse. Not having any success, she resorted to changing the subject, instead. "So how have the kids been lately?"

"They've been great." Tsubasa ruffled a little boy's hair. "Much better now that Misaki's helping out. Oh and hey, what do you guys say?" he called out.

The kids looked up from their candy-some with icing covered faces- and said in unision, "Thank you, Miss Mikan." After the deed was done, they immediately returned to their snacks.

Misaki nodded her head. "Yeah, these guys were nuts before I came here. I don't know why this blockhead over here thought he could handle children without me," she claimed as she smacked Tsubasa upside the head.

Mikan laughed alongside the kids at the expression on Tsubasa's face. Tsubasa and Misaki began another one of their banters. Mikan didn't know why they weren't married yet. They already acted like a married couple and she knew how much they loved each other, especially after being separated for so long.

She felt a tug on her jeans. Looking down, she saw a small boy with light gray hair and a frown plastered on his face.

"Hi Auntie," he said, the corners of his mouth tilting up into a smile.

"I remember you!" Mikan stated. She picked him up and gave him a big hug.

"How do you know Youichi?"

Mikan and Youichi looked at Tsubasa and Misaki, who had both been watching them, baffled.

"Yeah," continued Misaki, "He's a new student here. You couldn't have met him yet."

Mikan grinned and said, "You know, I don't have to meet _all_ children through you two. I accidentally bumped into his dad yesterday and he totally freaked out at me! Later they came to the bakery and I gave this little guy some free _Howalon._" She rested her head against his in a very mother-like manner. "And he's liked me ever since," Mikan declared joyously.

Misaki and Tsubasa looked at each other, then back to Mikan and Youichi.

"Seriously?" Misaki spoke first. "He barely likes anyone, let alone adults. And he only likes Tsubasa 'cause he's good friends with his uncle."

It was Tsubasa's turn to speak. "Yeah…And you said that his _dad_ freaked out at you, but his dad passed away before he was even born." He crossed his arms. "So it couldn't have been him. What did this guy look like?" he asked even though he already had a vague idea of who it was.

"Well," Mikan thought out loud, "He had these intense red eyes that seemed to look into your soul, a real nice crimson colour, too."

Tsubasa and Misaki looked at each other again, abruptly this time. Tsubasa began to put two and two together.

"He had raven coloured hair that was a bit on the long side, but was really fashionable. And I could tell that he had a nice build, too."

Suddenly, Tsubasa snapped his fingers and rounded onto Mikan, who instinctively held Youichi even closer. He put his hands on his hips and peered down at her. "So _you're_ Mikan!" He smiled a great, big smile.

She blinked in confusion. "Uh…Yes?"

"I should've known it was you! Oh this is great… Why didn't I think of this earlier?" He began to pace around the room and rubbed his chin. He was clearly thinking hard.

"Tsubasa, can you please explain to me what's going on?" Misaki demanded. She glared at him.

"Oh, right!" Tsubasa ran over to Misaki grabbed her hand, and began to pull her away.

"Where are you taking me?"

"We need to talk in private," he answered. He turned back to a very puzzled Mikan. "Can you take care of the kids while we're gone? Thanks." He continued to drag Misaki away.

"But…" Mikan looked at the kids around her. They had just finished their sugary treats and looked ravenous to her. All of the children began to swarm around Mikan. "Oh, God no."

* * *

><p>"Tell me what all this is about right now, Tsubasa!" Misaki pulled her hand out of Tsubasa's grasp and put it on her hip. She glowered at him with a murderous glint in her eyes.<p>

Tsubasa, unaffected, merely grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Do you remember what I told you about Natsume? How no girl has ever treated him differently and how he hates it?" he asked her quickly.

She blinked and dropped her hand. "Uh, yeah, but what on earth does that have to do with anything?"

Tsubasa's grin widened. "Okay, yesterday, remember when I told you that I had to leave early?" He waited until she nodded before preceding. "Well, that was because me and the guys wanted to talk to Natsume about his bad habits with women. So Ruka used his spare key and we talked to him in his apartment."

"That strangely sounds like an intervention…"

"That's because it was," Tsubasa replied.

"But isn't that more of a girl thing…?" Misaki asked, her brow quirked.

Tsubasa spluttered, "N-no! It was a completely manly talk between _men!_"

"Yeah, sure," she scoffed.

"It _was!_" he retorted.

"Just get back to the topic, will yah?"

Tsubasa crossed his arms before replying, "Fine." His expression became excited again. "Anyways, during our _very_ manly talk, Koko read Natsume's mind and it seemed that he had bumped into a young woman from before. Not only was he completely humiliated, but the girl actually _yelled_ at him. Koko said that his reaction was priceless. Wish I could've been there."

Misaki widened her eyes. "Wow, I wish I could've been there, too. This girl sounds extraordinary."

He nodded, "Yeah, and they met up again at _Sakura's Bakery_. Apparently, they argued over there, too. At least, the girl argued, Natsume just kinda pissed her off for fun. Koko claimed that he thinks she's cute when she's mad. I personally think she's downright terrifying."

Misaki tilted her head. "Wait, you've met this girl?"

Tsubasa nodded his head again. "We both have. Koko also said that this girl's name was _Mikan._"

She gasped, "Mikan? Seriously? Actually, it's not that surprising for Mikan to have gotten mad at Natsume like that. Not only does she have a horrible temper, but she never really thinks before she yells…"

Tsubasa laughed. "Yeah, and the funny thing is, Natsume _enjoyed_ it. I guess my theory was right, he really did hate all those women fawning over him and stuff. I think he actually wants to see her again." He conveniently left out the part about the bet they made. "You could kinda tell by the way he was spacing out every once in a while."

"But didn't you say he always does that?"

"Yeah, but this time was different. He actually had a happy expression on his face, like he was thinking of a precious memory," he replied seriously.

Misaki breathed, "Wow, I think he really likes Mikan. Why didn't we think of setting them up before? I already knew that Mikan wouldn't put up with his bad attitude."

Tsubasa walked over and put his arm around her. "It doesn't matter anymore. Now that they've already met, my guess is that Natsume wants to keep in contact with her. All we have to do is make sure that that happens."

Misaki looked up at him. "So we're playing match maker again?" she asked hopefully.

He grinned. "Yep."

* * *

><p>"No! Get away from me!" Mikan shouted as she ran from the giggling four-year-old girl. She panted. This was seriously starting to wear her down.<p>

The little girl began to catch up with her. Slowly, she caught up with Mikan and patted her leg. "Tag, you're it."

"Darn it," Mikan complained, "I was hoping that maybe this time I'd be fast enough." Of course she purposely ran slower so that the kids could actually stood a chance of catching her.

"You're it, Miss Mikan. Come and tag us!" replied another little girl.

Mikan laughed at all of the kids' cute faces.

Youichi walked over and said, "Auntie, you're very slow for a grown up."

She frowned. "Well, excuse me." Mikan turned away and crossed her arms. "Here I am trying my best to run for you guys, and yet you still complain? Sheesh. Maybe it would be best if I just let you guys play by yourself."

Youichi's frowned his cute little frown. "No, Auntie."

"Yeah, keep playing with us Miss Mikan!" each and every kid whined.

Mikan giggled and picked Youichi up. "I'm just kidding. Of course I'm still playing with you guys." She ruffled his hair. As she put him down, she touched Youichi's nose and said, "Now you're it." Mikan winked and ran away.

"Get her!" The kids obeyed the little girl's command happily and chased Mikan all over the playground.

Tsubasa and Misaki walked out to find Mikan getting dog piled by numerous children.

Tsubasa laughed, "I told you she'd be good with kids."

Misaki ignored him. "Mikan, come here!" she called out. "We need to speak with you!"

"Why? I'm not in trouble, am I?" Mikan managed to ask through the various bodies of children on top of her (Youichi just stood to the side).

"Not yet, but you will be if you don't get here soon," Tsubasa said jokingly.

Mikan, being the dense idiot she is, assumed he was serious and instantly jumped from the 'body pile' and ran over.

"What," she panted, "is it?"

Misaki and Tsubasa laughed at her.

"It's nothing important, I was just kidding," assured Tsubasa.

Despite his helpful information, Mikan pulled on one of his blue hairs and yanked it out of his head. "Stupid, manipulating cockroach…"

He rubbed his head where she pulled out his hair and muttered, "Ouch."

"What we were going to ask you, Mikan, was if you, Hotaru and Sumire wanted to meet some of Tsubasa's friends. We all went to school together and I haven't even seen them in a while." Misaki looked towards the sky. "Well, except Natsume when he comes to pick Youichi up, but even then I don't get to talk to him much…To busy," she added after a moment of thought.

Tsubasa piped up, "We're going to make reservations at this nice restaurant in town this Saturday. It would be awesome if you could come. I have a feeling you'll like my friends," he hinted.

Mikan tilted her head. "Well, it would be nice to go to a fancy restaurant. I've always wanted to go to one," she mused. "And just thinking of the food makes me excited already!" She looked at both Misaki and Tsubasa. "I'm in. Oh, and I'll try to convince the others too. Sumire will be easy, Hotaru on the other hand…"

"Don't worry, I'll help you with Hotaru," promised Misaki.

"I'm sure you can do it," Tsubasa chimed in.

Mikan beamed. "Alright then, I'm there!" She turned around and waved. "Bye everyone! I'll see you later Youichi."

And with that all said and done, Mikan dutifully returned to _Sakura's Bakery_ where work was sure to be waiting.

"Thank you for coming to _Sakura's Bakery._ Have a nice day!" Mikan handed the old woman her devil cookies with a bright smile.

* * *

><p>"Thank you, young lady. You have a nice day, too." And with that, she hobbled away, carrying her precious devil cookies.<p>

Mikan sighed. Today was especially busy. There were people from all over crowding around, trying to see and buy anything they could. She also noted that there were even people from western countries who seemed to have come to Japan just to see and taste the wonders of _Sakura's Bakery. _

She let her thoughts wander as she began to unload boxes of multi-coloured, humming jub-jubs.

Soon Mikan would have to expand her bakery (again) to fit all of the customers now. She frowned at the thought. It wasn't that she didn't have enough money, she had more than enough. It was just a hassle to renovate the bakery. It took a very long time and Mikan had no idea how Anna could keep up with all the orders. She could already tell that work was beginning to wear on her. Mikan would have to hire an assistant chef for her to help bake food. Mikan knew that Anna could just add her alice to bring the food to life after it had been baked. The assistant would just have to know all of the strange and unusual ingredients Anna used to make her fantastic creations.

The real trouble was finding someone both she and Anna could trust. It was hard with how busy everyone already was in the bakery. Mikan knew she couldn't post an 'employees needed' in the newspaper. She shuddered when she pictured the amount of people crowding and screaming at the doors, trying to get the 'best job in the world.' No, she'd have to find an employee the hard way.

As Mikan mentally went through a very small list of possible candidates for her bakery, she heard a familiar voice call out, "Auntie, we're back."

She looked down and saw Youichi smiling up at her. "Hello Youichi! Is school done for the day?"

He nodded happily. It seemed he was quite satisfied with the idea of school being over.

Mikan laughed. He did seem the type to despise school, even for a pre-schooler.

"I originally thought that you were just ignoring me, but now I'm getting the impression that you never knew I was here in the first place," commented a masculine voice.

Mikan looked up into two narrowed, crimson eyes. She realized that they belonged to a man, a very annoyed man.

"Oh," she said. She wanted to hit herself for failing to realize that a four-year-old was very unlikely. "So what are you doing here?" Mikan questioned.

The unidentified young man smirked. He continued to stare at her until she scowled at him. He chuckled. "Well, I'm here for two reasons, Polka-dots."

Mikan's scowl intensified but, much to her frustration, this only seemed to give him satisfaction.

He grinned and said, "My nephew, Youichi, asked to come here again. And since he seems to like it so much, I agreed."

"Well, that's very generous of you," Mikan remarked, surprised. Maybe he wasn't such a jerk, after all.

An idea suddenly popped into her head. She turned her attention back to Youichi. "Hey, Youichi, do you want to come back again after school sometime? I can show you the kitchen where Anna makes the food and the testing room where new baked goods are stored that most people haven't even seen yet," Mikan coaxed.

Youichi looked up to the man with the unsettling crimson eyes. After he signaled his approval by nodding, Youichi looked to Mikan and replied, "Okay, I'll come here later after school."

Mikan beamed. Maybe, if things went well, she would be training a future worker. She could tell that Youichi was reliable and very responsible for such a young boy. She was sure that he'd love working here, but if he should ever come to say that he didn't want to work there, Mikan supposed she'd just have to accept it.

"I still haven't told you the second reason why I came here, Polka-dots." The unwelcome voice shook her from her thoughts once more.

Mikan turned to the infuriating man. "My name is Mikan. Not Polka-dots,M-I-K-A-N_,_" she corrected.

He looked at her blankly. "Anyways, as I was going to say, Polk-"

"What's your name?"

One of the young man's eyebrows rose. "Why," he began slowly, "do you need to know right now? Can't you wait until I'm done talking?"

Mikan simply shook her head and replied, "No."

"And why not?"

"Because," she said calmly, as if explaining math to a small child, "Now that you know my name, it's only proper that I know yours, too. This way, maybe we can refer to each other using actual names instead of insults that you seem to prefer."

His eyebrow quirked again, but this time it seemed that he wasn't just doing this out of confusion, but out of amusement. "Well, since it's so important to you, it's Natsume. But then again, a lot of girls think my name is important." He smirked arrogantly.

She ignored the comment and tried out his name. "Natsume. Hmm," she thought out loud, "I like it."

"Of course you do, it's a great name," approved Natsume.

Mikan frowned at him. Turning away, she decided, "Well maybe I don't like it, anymore."

"You just said-"

"I changed my mind." Mikan resumed unpacking jub-jubs.

"Pfft, you're such a child," said Natsume.

She spun around. Hands on her hips, Mikan leaned over and threatened, "If you're just here to insult me, then you can just can just take Youichi and those tacky, ripped jeans of yours and-"

"Go on a date with me."

Mikan stopped mid-speech. Her mouth hung open in a very unwomanly manner. "What?" she squeaked.

"I like you," Natsume confessed. "You're not like other _proper_ women who can't get enough of me. You're different." He watched as Mikan slowly straightened and crossed her arms uncertainly.

"B-but…Why?" she stammered.

Natsume rolled his eyes. "You're so slow. I've already explained to you why I'm asking you to go on a date with me."

Mikan snapped out of her stupefied manner. "That wasn't what I was asking," she replied, insulted. "What I meant was, why the hell would I go out with you?"

Natsume looked generally offended. "Why the hell not?" he demanded.

"You're rude, you're perverted, you're annoying. And all you do is insult me! Why _would _I go out with you?" Mikan glared at him disapprovingly.

"Because-"

"_Wait!_"

The arguing pair looked for the new voice. It wasn't long until they spotted Anna, who had come out of the kitchen to and heard their argument.

"Anna, what are you doing out of the kitchen?" Mikan inquired.

"Never mind that!" Anna ran over, grabbed Mikan's shoulder and began to run back into her beloved kitchen.

"And just where are you taking her?" Natsume demanded.

"One second, Natsume, I just need to talk with her for a minute," Anna called while rushing away.

The former gentle girl roughly pushed Mikan through the revolving doors and followed her in.

"Ouch!" Mikan protested. "What was that for!"

"What do you think you're doing? You can't just decline Natsume's offer!" Anna ignored her question and scolded her like a mother would.

"What offer?"

"He asked you out on a date, and you refused. How could you?" she wondered disbelievingly.

"Easy, I said no," Mikan stated matter-of-factly.

"But why?" Anna nearly screeched. "He's so hot! And I hear he's an amazing lover, too," she added with a giggle.

She scoffed. "Yes, because I care oh-so-much about those things."

Anna stared at her.

Rolling her eyes, Mikan started out the door saying, "I'm telling you, those things aren't that important." She stopped just before stepping out of the kitchen and whispered, "I should know."

Mikan left the bewildered Anna and set out to see Natsume to confirm her answer.

As she was walking back to the cash register, she found Natsume throwing Youichi up into the air and catch him, only to throw him back up again. Youichi laughed like only a kid could and Natsume smiled at his cheerfulness.

Mikan stopped short. She stopped breathing. Her eyes widened as her mind took in the sight before her.

They were like father and son.. They looked so comfortable in each other's company, like a real, happy family. It was something that Mikan yearned for more that anything else.

She watched longingly as Natsume threw Youichi up one last time before catching him and giving him a big hug. She pictured Natsume doing that again, but this time with _her_ child. Mikan smiled at the thought of having her own family.

Realizing that she had just pictured Natsume as the father of her family, she shook her head wildly and hit it for good measure.

_What was that all about_, she thought, horrified. Taking in a fresh breath, Mikan decided to leave that difficult thought for later. As calmly as she could manage, she walked back towards Natsume and Youichi.

"That was weird," Natsume 'helpfully' pointed out.

Mikan assumed he was talking about Anna's behavior. "Yeah, just ignore that. I think all that cooking is going to her head." Mikan smiled as Natsume nodded. "So about that date, I still don't think it's a good idea."

Natsume looked at her expectantly. She took that as a sign to continue.

"There is no chance that we would make it as a couple. I mean, we don't even get along. All we do is fight and argue," Mikan explained.

"So?" Natsume looked at her funny. Mikan returned the look.

He sighed and continued. "I have never fought with any girl before. Do you want to know why? Because they never get mad at me. They picture me as this god and do whatever I want. It's fucking annoying."

Mikan continued to stare at him, baffled. "But shouldn't you enjoy it? You know, being a hormone-driven man and all…"

Natsume gave her one look and turned his chin up and laughed.

Confused as ever, Mikan decided to just stay silent until he was finished. As much as she tried to deny it, she had to admit that she enjoyed his laugh. It was rich and sexy and just about every quality a laugh could possibly have.

When he was done, he looked at her and joked, "You are the only person I've ever met who'd actually call me a 'hormone-driven man.'"

"Seriously?" She was surprised to see Youichi nodding at her question.

Natsume saw it, too. "I told you it was annoying. That's why I like fighting with you. It's refreshing. Plus, it's fun to see you when you get mad. Your face gets all red and your eyes change size incredibly fast, much like a crazed hag," he teased.

"I do not look like a crazed hag!" Mikan denied outrageously.

Unfortunately, her outburst caught the attention of many customers. Mikan immediately apologized and returned her attention to Natsume, who was shaking with suppressed laughs alongside Youichi.

Recovering, Natsume began, "So about that date…"

"I already said no, didn't I?" Mikan fought to keep her voice down.

To her utter confusion, he smirked. "I guess that means that you're not going to the _Amber Vines_."

Mikan stopped. "The… _Amber Vines_?" she repeated.

Natsume grinned in satisfaction.

_The Amber Vines_ was a new five-star restaurant that served exquisitely cooked food. Each dish was like a piece of art, as was directed by the owner of the restaurant. Mikan had wanted to go there ever since she had come to Tokyo. But sadly, fate had different plans and made it so that she was too busy at the time to go, and now that she had the time, the restaurant was so successful, you could only get in if you had a reservation and had a two month wait.

"From the disgusting drool coming from your mouth, I take it you want to go to this restaurant?" observed Natsume.

Mikan quickly wiped her mouth and said to him, "It isn't a date. Just a dinner between friends."

"With benefits," added Nastume, earning him a smack over the head. He glared at her.

"Pervert."

Natsume smirked slyly and said, "I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven."

He started to leave until Mikan exclaimed, "But you don't even know where I live!"

Natsume turned back and replied, "I've already asked Bubble-gum over there where your apartment was." He gestured to Anna, who looked down guiltily.

"Bye-bye, Auntie," Youichi called.

"See you tomorrow, Strawberry Fields," Natsume smirked that horrible smirk of his when she realized what he was referring to. She looked down but saw that she was wearing pants.

Mikan fumed. "B-but…HOW!"

* * *

><p>After chuckling from hearing her outraged scream from outside, Natsume pulled out his cell phone and dialed the annoyingly small buttons.<p>

He waited for the person on the other line to pick up.

"Hello, Ruka Nogi speaking," said a cheerful voice from the phone.

"Ruka, it's me," Natsume said. He could tell that his friend had immediately perked up.

"So? How'd it go? Did she say yes?" Ruka babbled.

Natsume grinned at his friend's excitement. "It took some convincing, but she finally said yes. It seems that the restaurant Bubble-gum helped me pick out really helped."

"That's awesome!" exclaimed Ruka. "So, how are you feeling about your date?" he asked.

Natsume looked to the sky and imagined an entire night teasing and arguing with Mikan. "Actually, yes. I think I _am_ looking forward to the date."

He heard Ruka whistle. "Well that's definitely a first."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: SORRY! I know I said that I'd update in a few days, but the room with my computer in it got renovated the day after I posted Chapter 2 (which I edited) and I didn't have access to it until a few days ago.<p>

Thank you for all the reviews! They really help make me write more.

I hope that this chapter made up for it! The next chapter is called "First Date?"


	4. First Date?

**Chapter Four: First Date?**

"Oh, come on, Hotaru, please come!"

Mikan was in her beloved condo with Hotaru, who had finally come home from a three day trip to visit her family. Mikan suspected that she just wanted to show off to her brother about her new, well-paying career.

Mikan was trying to convince her to go out to dinner with Misaki and Tsubasa and his friends (along with Sumire) but it seemed like Hotaru had better plans, which included buying a can of crab brains and watching the discovery channel all Saturday in sweat pants and her lab coat.

Mikan shivered. Those brains were nasty _and_ disgusting. She didn't understand Hotaru's obsession of seafood, but if it was anything like her own obsession of candy, then she could sympathize.

She stared pleadingly into Hotaru's emotionless, amethyst eyes. Her efforts were wasted.

"I've already told you, Saturdays are days that I like to spend by myself," Hotaru said strictly. Glowering at Mikan, she added, "And anyone who doesn't know their place and decides to join in."

"That's because I've missed our movie nights together and it was the closest thing to it," said Mikan defensively. "Do you think I watched that stupid nanotechnology program because of your precious crab brains?"

Hotaru walked up to her and slammed a purple pad over her forehead.

Mikan touched the sticky pad with her fingers and felt dread coming. If this was another one of Hotaru's inventions, and she was testing it out on her, then that could only mean…

"Crap-"

Electric currents shot through her head and down to her toes. Her body shook uncontrollably. It felt as if sharp needles were traveling their way into her skin. She fell to the floor. The buzzing sensations were awful; they were sharp and piercing and not enjoyable in the least.

All of these horrible things happened over the course of one second. Mikan's body kept having strange spasms and twitches. She groaned in pain.

She flinched when something touched her shoulder. It was Hotaru's hand. After a spasm, she looked up to see Hotaru's worried face.

"Wh-why did you-?" Another spasm.

"Damn, that was too many volts," Hotaru cursed softly. "That must have hurt." She reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like a sort of ointment. Unscrewing the lid, she scooped up a large globe of bright green glob, ripped the pad off of Mikan's forehead (which stung _a_ _lot_), and began spreading the ointment where the pad used to be.

Mikan sighed in relaxation as she felt comforting warmth spread throughout her body. It was so soothing. It was like someone was massaging her entire body, rubbing their way to the most tense muscles. When the warm feeling reached her heart, Mikan was on cloud nine. This was truly heaven. The slight tingling feeling gave Mikan the jitters. She felt warm all over, as if someone precious was hugging her. This feeling reminded her of her mother. Mikan pushed the memories of her mother away to the back of her mind. She couldn't cry now.

The spasms stopped.

She sighed again. "That was totally worth it, Hotaru. But that was still a little overboard, don't you think?"

Hotaru looked at her. "The pad was stronger than I expected. For that I am sorry. No more electi-pads for you," she said apologetically.

Mikan stared at her. It was extremely rare when Hotaru apologized. It must've been quite a painful sight. Mikan tried to rub the back of her head. _It felt painful, too, _she thought.

"Don't worry about it. I'm completely fine. See?" Mikan stood up and twirled around to prove her point. She wobbled a bit but hoped that Hotaru didn't notice.

Footsteps sounded from the kitchen. Hotaru had come back (Mikan hadn't even realized he left) and had come back with two cups of hot lemon water.

Offering one cup to Mikan, Hotaru drank deeply from hers.

An idea made its way to Mikan's mind. "You know, Hotaru, if you really do feel guilty about electrocuting me, then you can make it up to me by-"

"I refuse to go to some stupid 'get together' set up by Misaki and her idiot boyfriend," interrupted Hotaru.

"But we're going to an all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant! I heard it's really nice, too." Mikan refused to give up. Hotaru had to go; it just wouldn't be the same without her-at least, to Mikan it wouldn't.

Hotaru stopped mid-sip. "'All-you-can-eat seafood restaurant?'" she repeated, interested at last. She stood thoughtfully for a moment, tapping her chin.

"Yes," Mikan coaxed, "with all the slimy crab brains you can puke."

"I'm there."

"Great!" she cheered. Now all she had to do was to convince Sumire. That wouldn't even be hard. All she would have to say was that there would be hot guys joining them and she'd be there in an instant.

The phrase 'hot guys' broke into Mikan's happy thoughts.

"Crap, I'm gonna be late!" she gasped.

"Late?" inquired Hotaru. "What for?"

Mikan sprinted to her bedroom. Unfortunately, she stepped on something fuzzy and fell to the floor. "Ow…" Rubbing her bottom, Mikan looked back to see what was the cause of her fall.

She felt her guts fall to the pit of her stomach. "Oh damn…" she cursed.

For on the floor, laying in what used to be a comfortable sleep, was a stuffed, brown teddy. It was Mr. Bear, and he had a murderous glint in his eyes.

Mikan immediately stuttered apologies and excuses. "I'm sorry! I didn't w-want to be late for my delicious dinner a-and I wasn't looking where I was going…and…" She gulped. From the look on Mr. Bears face, it didn't look like her reasoning had calmed him down. In fact, it seemed as if her excuses had made him even angrier. Mikan awaited the dreaded twinkle in his beady black eyes.

It came.

Mr. Bear sprinted towards her and performed a very impressive roundhouse kick which hit Mikan's side. The poor girl yelped as she flew across the hallway.

Mikan rubbed her butt some more. Boy, was it going to be sore tomorrow.

Mikan focused her attention on Mr. Bear. "What did you do that for? I said I was sorry, didn't I?" she demanded.

The hateful bear ignored her. Instead, he brushed himself off and ran away to the closet he had claimed as his room when they moved here.

Mikan sighed. She had met Mr. Bear on the very first day at Alice Academy when she was just eighteen. Mikan had entered the school a few weeks after the term ended, so she wasn't able to meet the classmates of Hotaru and Sumire, much to her disappointment. Mikan was just walking through the forest (she felt like rebelling against school rules) when she had found a cute, little cottage and cute, little bear to match. Delighted, she had sprinted to the bear (she realized it was alive) and tried to give him a hug. But the cute, little bear wasn't so cute and little after all. All Mikan remembered was seeing a murderous, ruthless, malicious twinkle in his eyes, and everything had gone black.

The two of them had been enemies for the most part of her first year of teaching at Alice Academy. It wasn't until Mikan had saved Mr. Bear during one of her missions that he began to warm up to her. After that day, Whenever the ESP had given her a mission, Mr. Bear always accompanied her to help keep her safe. And for that, she was grateful, for she knew how hard it was to find a friend as loyal as Mr. Bear.

After Mikan and the others had blackmailed the ESP (Hotaru did most of the work), Mikan asked Mr. Bear if he would like to leave the academy with them. She was so happy when he finally decided to come. From then on, Mikan knew that Mr. Bear would never part from her. He'd still beat her up, but he'd always be by her side. Unless he was doing those chores that he had taken up. Hotaru was extremely relieved that she would never have to go grocery shopping. Mikan just pitied whoever worked at the store Mr. Bear like to shop at.

"What are you going to be late for. Tell me." Hotaru had come up behind Mikan and had a disapproved frown on her face. "Right now."

Mikan merely shrugged half-heartedly and replied, "Some guy is taking me out to this amazing restaurant. I'm pretty sure he'd get mad if I was late and do something awful and maybe even perverted." She would die of embarrassment if he managed to sneak another peak at her underwear.

"Why are you going on a date and who with?"

"Wait a minute, aren't you one of the many people who always pester me about getting myself a boyfriend? Why are you against it now?" Mikan asked suspiciously. After four seconds, she added, "And it's not a date."

"A man that you are not familiar with is taking you out on a date, and I'm quite certain you aren't going to discuss business matters. This is called a date," stated the black-haired girl simply. "Who are you going out with? I'm losing my patience."

_What patience?_ Mikan thought rebelliously. Instead of saying it out loud like she wanted to, she resorted to sparing herself the pain and saying, "This guy called Natsume. He's a real dick but he told me he had reservations for _the_ _Amber Vines. _It's the restaurant I've been dying to go to for ages. I'm pretty sure I can handle his company if it's for the food," she said cheerfully. Just thinking of the pictures of the food that she'd seen on the internet that others had posted just made her mouth water.

A soft laugh caught Mikan's attention. Still on the floor, she looked up to see Hotaru's small smile. Mikan looked at her questioningly.

"Trust you to only go out with a guy because of food," she explained. "So," Hotaru began again, "Does this 'Natsume' happen to have red eyes?" Her serious expression returned tenfold

"Uh, yeah…How did you know? Wait a sec," The clogs in Mikan's head began to turn. _If Natsume went to school with Nonoko, then that means he went to school with Anna, since they were best friends since they were six. And if he went to school with those two, then that means that he went to school with Hotaru, because Hotaru went to school with those two, as well, and that means that…Natsume is an alice! _Her eyes widened at the sudden revelation. Why hadn't she realized all this before? "Hotaru, you went to school with Natsume?"

Hotaru looked at her blandly. "It certainly took you long enough. Yes, he did, and before you ask, if you want to know his alice, it will cost $20," she said and held out her hand.

Mikan scowled, "No thanks, I think I'll just ask the pervert himself."

"Suit yourself." The scowl was returned. "But I'm warning you, Mikan, that boy isn't an ideal person to date. He quickly loses interests in girls, so don't go falling for him or anything, because it's very likely that your feelings won't be returned.," Hotaru warned.

Mikan scoffed, "Like I'd actually go out with a playboy like him. I mean really, Hotaru, can't you give me more credit? Especially considering the things I've been through."

Her friend just shook her head sympathetically and headed towards the kitchen. She stopped. "I just wanted to remind you that you should get ready soon. I don't want you to be late. Hyuuga would surely be very angry." Hotaru resumed her long, hard journey to the kitchen.

Mikan gasped, "Oh no!" She ran into her bedroom and slammed the door shut. She took in a big, deep breath, for now the hardest part had come: choosing what to wear.

* * *

><p>Natsume strolled through the streets. His thoughts were a big jumble and it was hard to concentrate on one thing at a time. Today he was finally going to find out if that girl from the bakery was really different. He had extremely mixed feelings about all of this.<p>

He had to admit, he was a bit excited. But for each amount of excitement he felt, he felt ten times more dread.

Doubt began to make its devilish way into his mind.

What if she really _was_ like the other girls? What if she never was that fiery girl with that admirable, annoying temper, and it was all just an act to go on a date with him?

Natsume didn't know if he could stand the disappointment. He couldn't afford to have his hopes rise so much, only to crash down again to make an even deeper pit in his gut.

He passed a group of loud, obnoxious teenagers screaming at him and his 'hotness', ignoring them. They weren't even worth his time. Especially not when he had other things to worry about.

He thought back to when she clumsily tripped into him, and how-after he had insulted her-she screamed at him and threw out as many insults at him as he did her. He chuckled softly. He was as happy as he was surprised. Finally, a girl who'd get mad at him without a second thought.

Using this as encouragement, Natsume forced himself to walk the rest of the way to her apartment building without thinking of 'what if's.' Maybe-if he was lucky enough-tonight would be as memorable as he imagined.

There it was. It was a large building and anyone could tell that it must be expensive to live there. Natsume even saw balconies; they were large and some actually held a porch swing. He briefly wondered if the girl from the bakery had a porch swing. _Probably, she's definitely childish enough,_ he thought.

Making his way through the annoying spinning doors, Natsume ignored the awed stares from women and teenaged girls as he walked towards the clerk.

"Where does Mikan Sakura live?" he asked. The girl from the bakery with the pink hair had also told him

The clerk was a man well into his fifties and seemed to have a weight issue. His eyes were kind when they trained themselves onto Natsume.

"Miss Sakura?" the clerk reaffirmed. He nodded. "My, it's about time that young lady got herself a date," the clerk remarked.

Natsume rose an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" He felt his blood boil. It was an unfamiliar feeling and he didn't know what to make of it.

"Oh, I don't mean to be rude or jumping to conclusions." The clerk was quick to defend himself. "It's just that Miss Sakura has only lived here for a few weeks and-being such a kind and beautiful lady-I expected there to be more men visiting her."

Strangely, this fact calmed Natsume down a great deal; it proved that she wasn't a slut, and since she lived in this prestigious building and owned a very successful bakery, there was no way that she'd be after his money. Natsume's shoulders relaxed visibly.

"Good," said Natsume, "now tell me which apartment or condo is hers."

The clerk seemed to tremble at his tone of voice. "Uh, 218," he quickly answered.

Natsume nodded his thanks and made his way towards the elevator. He stepped into the strangely open-spaced contraption and waited, alone, for the small ding that would signify his ability to leave.

_**BBBZZZZZZ!**_

Natsume nearly jumped. That was one hell of a ding. Damn, he hated those stupid buzzes.

Regaining his composure, he walked out of the hateful elevator with the hateful buzzer and went to find Room 218.

There it was. Room 218, with golden plaited framing and everything.

Natsume took in a deep breath. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door.

He heard soft footsteps on the other side of the 'barrier' until it opened quite forcefully.

Smirking, Natsume rose his crimson eyes to meet… amethyst ones…

"What the hell?"

Imai smirked. "What's the matter, Hyuuga, not the person you expected to meet?" she taunted.

He scowled. This had better be some kind of sick joke. Why was Imai of all people at the apartment of his date? He voiced his thoughts. "Why the hell are you here, Imai." he demanded.

She frowned disapprovingly. "That's no way to treat your…" she paused for a moment, "friend from school, now is it?"

Natsume glared at her. They weren't 'friends,' far from it, actually. They were both occasional companions and bitter rivals. Imai was very competitive towards getting good grades and, though Natsume couldn't care less, he had always been the best in class. Ever since she showed up, they had fought over being the best. Natsume had found it extremely annoying, and her personality even more so.

"Answer the damn question," he threw back at her.

"If you want to know so badly, I happen to be Mikan's best friend," she answered smugly. Oh how she must love to piss him off. "And I also live with her," she finished. Yep, she definitely loved it.

"Not for long," Natsume retorted. He leaned back against the doorframe with a smirk. Her reaction was surprising.

Imai gave him a long, hard, murderous glare. "Listen, Hyuuga," she hissed, "Mikan's gone through too much for you to just waltz in and break her heart. If you have any humane bone in that self-centered body of yours, leave. _Now,_" she commanded nastily.

If Natsume were anyone else, he would have ran out of there with his tail between his legs. But he wasn't. Instead, he drew himself up to full height and glared at her challengingly.

"No, and there's no way you, or anyone else can make me," he stated. "I've waited too long for someone like her just to walk away now. So back off, and let me in."

Imai looked at him suspiciously. "I think you're speaking the truth." She gave a long sigh. "Very well," she moved to give him room, "Come on in, but I'm warning you, Hyuuga." Her voice was dangerously low again. "If you _ever_ dare to hurt Mikan, then I assure you that when I'm done with you, Hell will seem like a _very _nice place."

Natsume had to admit, her threat was quite intimidating. But when Natsume Hyuuga was intimidated, he always, _always_, rose to the challenge. It was who he was.

"Then I will welcome Hell with open arms," he replied, smirking his famous smirk.

Imai was about to reply but was unable to because of the screech that came from a closet behind her.

Natsume stared at the closet, startled. He gave Imai a questioning look.

She replied with a shake of her head and a muttered, "Don't be alarmed. This happens just about every other day."

Before he could say or do anything, a yelp sounded from the closet, followed by a, "I just needed to get my scarf, you stupid, stuffed animal!"

Natsume rose both eyebrows. _Well, that was weird,_ he thought.

The next thing he knew, the very girl who had been plaguing his thoughts the past day came flying out of the closet. She landed very ungracefully on her knees, which was followed by her head smashing into the wood floors. _Ouch._

He was about to see if she was okay, when she flung around, pointed a finger at the closet door, and snapped, "You don't have to be so violent, Mr. Bear. You'd be so much more enjoyably if you weren't."

A scarf tied to a rock and hit the brunette in the chest. Instead of protesting, however, the girl smiled appreciatively and exclaimed, "My scarf! Thanks Mr. Bear." And with that, she stood up and headed towards the door, where she found two people staring at her; one with a shocked expression, the other with half-lidded eyes.

Natsume recovered from his shock and looked at Imai. "You said this was normal?" he asked.

Imai nodded slowly.

Polka-dots blushed. "I take it that you saw, huh?" she said, embarrassed.

Natsume looked at her bluntly. "You just got your ass kicked by a bear. A _stuffed_ bear. What does that say about you?"

She automatically became defensive. "Hey! It's not like he's an ordinary bear. He's possessed by a spirit or a soul or something and he's freaking strong!"

"Wimp," Natsume snorted. "He never beat _me_ up when I went to school. And why is he here, by the way?" he asked, his brow quirked. "I wouldn't dream of letting that murderous freak of nature into _my _home."

"Well, excuse me for having a heart," Polka-dots huffed. She crossed her arms and looked away.

_What a child,_ Natsume thought. He took this chance to look her over.

She was wearing a soft pink dress cut down to her knees that accented her curves _very_ well. Polka-dots had wrapped the matching scarf-which was more of a ribbon-around her shoulders and down her arms. Her hair was curled into delicate ringlets that fell like a water fall over her shoulder. Her make-up wasn't over done like most girls, but was instead just used to highlight her already extravagant facial features. And her eyes…her eyes were just amazing. The way the soft caramel colour lit up whenever she smiled, and the way her eyes showed every expression clearly. They were like windows you could use to see into her soul. She never hid her feelings, never even _tried_ to. It was very refreshing, especially when Natsume thought about his last girl, Luna. She was fake both emotionally _and_ physically. He continued to stare at Polka-dots. A soft smile graced his features. It went unnoticed to all but one.

Polka-dots turned towards Imai and said cheerily, "I'll be back soon, okay? Don't worry, I'll try my best to bring you some left-overs." Polka-dots looked at him. He forced himself out of his stupor. "Let's go, I can't wait to taste all the amazing food!" She started down the hallway without even a second glance at Natsume, who frowned.

"You'll have to get used to that," Imai said. She seemed slightly irritated but amused, as well. "God knows I've tried." She then proceeded to push Natsume out of the apartment and closed the door after saying, "Don't forget about our little chat, Hyuuga."

Natsume shook his head at the strangeness of it all. Why did Imai care so much about Polka-dots? In school, Imai had never been friendly to _anyone_. She had only put up with Permy.

He followed Polka-dots down to the lobby.

And why was that stupid bear there? Everyone always avoided him at Alice Academy, even Imai. Natsume remembered Polka-dots answer: _Well excuse me for having a heart._ Did that mean she let him live with her out of pity? Or maybe Mr. Bear had followed them and she just used that as an excuse because she couldn't get them out of her and Imai's house. That was probably it.

"Hurry up, Natsume," called Polka-dots from the elevator. She looked really excited. She also looked really stupid, because Natsume had a feeling that she was excited for the food, not him.

This made him frown in annoyance. What kind of girl would be more excited to eat than to dine with _him_? Now that he thought about it, half of his "girlfriends" were either anorexic, bulimic, or both. They were on the verge of being disgustingly skinny.

Natsume stopped. Wasn't he just worrying about Polka-dots being like the other girls? Why was it that he was complaining about it now?

He shook his head. This girl caused way too much troublesome thoughts for his own good.

He stepped into the elevator. Natsume looked at Polka-dots. "Why are you so giddy?" he asked. "Are you really that happy to go out on a date with me?"

She immediately glared at him and said, "This isn't a date, it's just a meal between two people who have no relationship in any way except maybe friendship and a small hatred of some sort. And for your information," she pressed a button on the elevator, "I've always wanted to go to this restaurant, but I've never been able to get a reservation." Polka-dots looked down sadly. Suddenly, she turned her caramel-coloured eyes up to him and asked suspiciously, "Just how _did _you get reservations, anyway? I'd hate to have to go all the way there with you, and have my hopes crashing to the ground because you tricked me and were planning on taking me to MacDonald's instead." She glared at him accusingly. "Well?" she blurted when Natsume didn't answer right away.

Natsume looked at her. Her eyes were narrowed. "Because I'm the owner, idiot." he replied.

She blinked. "…Owner?"

"Tch, really, I thought you would've knew more about _the Amber Vines_. It's always in the paper. And it's been far more than one time that my name and picture has been in it, too." he stated indifferently. "Do you really have no social life?" he accused.

Blood rushed to Polka-dots in her anger. "Of course I have a social life! I just never really read the newspaper and I've only been in Tokyo for a few weeks!" she defended herself the best she could. "And besides, not every pers-"

_**BBBZZZZZZ!**_

Polka-dots jumped in fright and clung to Natsume's shoulder, to his great delight. Slyly, he lifted his arm up around her waist. Natsume liked the feeling of her body against his. He watched as she frowned at the door as it opened. He smirked at her. Polka-dots looked at him and realized what she was holding on to. She gasped and stepped away, blushing.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Natsume grinned. She really was adorable. "I hate that freaking buzzer."

_Looks like I'm not the only one,_ he thought.

Boldly, he took her hand and stepped out of the elevator and led her to the restaurant.

Polka-dots objected to their hand holding, but soon relented-after he ignored her _and _glared at her.

Natsume snuck a peak behind his shoulder to see Polka-dots expression. She had a very cute pout on and was trying to maintain but looked like she was having difficulties. Every once in a while, she would forget her anger and he'd catch her smiling. Then, she'd notice him staring and go back to scowling.

He grinned. Yes, tonight was definitely going to be a night to remember.

* * *

><p>Mikan held her breath as she entered the tower of elegance and beauty. The decorations were astoundingly simple; just curtains, yellow, hand-painted wall accompanied by hangings and pictures, many flowers, and a fountain here and there. The main room of <em>the Amber Vines <em>was located in the center of the building and was large and spacious. The tables with center pieces were far enough apart that you didn't need to raise your voice just to be heard, but close enough not to feel alone and separated. The waiters in their sleek vests and dress pants seemed to float around the room. They had such grace! Mikan couldn't help but be envious.

"You own this!" she exclaimed after she was done with her awed stupor.

Natsume smirked at her arrogantly. "You like it?"

Mikan nodded enthusiastically, not noticing his expression.

A butler of some sort had come, flaunting his flamboyant moustache. "Good evening, Master Hyuuga. I trust that you and the Mistress will want a private room?" he inquired. Mikan noticed him give a sly wink to Natsume.

_That pig!_ she fumed. How dare he be so forward and hinting at their dinner? It wasn't even a date! And he's so _old_. It was disgusting. "Actually, I think a more public table will be just fine," Mikan commanded, eyes narrowed.

She looked to her side and caught Natsume staring at her with those intense, annoying eyes of his. They were so vigilant and perceptive, and it was like they were peering into your soul. And the colour didn't help, either.

"What?" she asked.

Natsume just shook his head. He then turned to the P.B. (perverted butler) and told him to get them a non-private table. "But make sure it's outside," he added, "I think it would be better than staying indoors."

The P.B. nodded in approval and led them to their table. Natsume took Mikan's hand and followed him outside. She was grateful for this, for her eyes were too busy taking in her surroundings to focus on watching where the P.B. went and on not getting lost. She also used him as extra leverage for when she tripped-which was more often than she'd like to admit.

Soon, they reached a large set of doors with intricate, wooden carvings embedded into it. When the P.B. opened one door and gestured them inside, Mikan's breath was completely taken away.

The outside portion of the restaurant was at the highest floor and one could actually see the stars playfully twinkling in the sky, and the clouds swirl around them protectively in a motherly manner. The patio where the tables sat was decorated as if it were a garden. There were flowers everywhere; roses, carnations, lilies, even some tropical flowers were blooming there. _The Amber Vines_, true to it's name, had green vines flourishing around the rock wall that protected the guests from falling off the patio to their doom.

Mikan sighed. "It's so beautiful! Natsume, did you design this yourself?" she asked.

Natsume replied with a scoff. "As if. My sister did most of the work, I have no interest in designing patios."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, you don't have to get all defensive about it. It was just a question."

Natsume didn't answer. Instead, he used his strength to forcefully drag her towards the table that the P.B. had prepared for them.

"I have legs, you know! You don't have to drag me," Mikan protested.

"Please, you'd probably spend the better part off an hour just to stare at the sky or the flowers," he returned.

She grumbled because he was probably right.

They made their way to the table where the P.B. was dutifully waiting to pull out their chairs for them. To Mikan's surprise, Natsume pulled out her chair for her and rejected the P.B.'s offer and sat down in a chair he pulled out himself.

"Very good, Master Hyuuga," the annoying P.B. said. "Here are your menus. I shall return in five minutes with your waiter to take your orders. But first," he breathed, "what wine would you like? As you know, we have a great selection." The P.B. beamed proudly.

Mikan did not like him one bit. He talked too much and she was sure if Natsume didn't hold up his hand, the stupid P.B. would have gone on and on about _the Amber Vine's _'great selection' of wine.

"What do you want to drink?"

Mikan realized that Natsume was talking to her, and quickly said, "Sorry, but I don't drink alcohol. Water will be fine, though." She smiled sheepishly. There were more than a handful of people who laughed at her for not being willing to drink, but Mikan had seen what alcohol could do to a person, and she refused to one of its victims.

Natsume rose an eyebrow. "Alright then, just bring us juice or something."

The P.B. obeyed. Natsume started to tell him orders of what and what not to bring him. Mikan guessed that the P.B. was overly enthusiastic with his job and had brought much too many drinks to Natsume before.

Mikan took this chance to look Natsume over. He was dressed in a fashionable tux with an open collar and no bow tie. She didn't expect him to wear one. His silky hair swung loosely whenever he moved his head, only to mold itself right back to its original position. His high cheekbones stood out especially in the lighting of the patio. His never-wavering eyes took in everything important around him, and ignored the rest. Natsume's posture spoke of confidence and power, but in a weird way, seem to hold a slight touch of gentleness to it.

No matter how hard Mikan tried, she couldn't deny that he was amazingly handsome and sexy in every way. She sighed and thought, _This would've been so much easier if he was ugly. _

Once the P.B. left, Natsume returned his attention to Mikan.

"How did you meet Imai and those two weirdos who work at your bakery?" he asked immediately.

"They are not weird. Anna and Nonoko are the nicest people I've ever met, no matter how strong-willed they may be sometimes," she said, annoyed.

Natsume looked at her pointedly. Mikan guessed that meant he didn't care so long as she answered his question. She knew she couldn't lie to him. He was too smart for her feeble attempts at lies, and his stubbornness would only make him demand the answer out of her. _I guess the only way out of this is the truth,_ Mikan thought wearily.

"Fine, I'll tell you." She sighed. "Hotaru and I were best friends since we were 8, in Osaka. My mom and I had been running away from the academy since before I was born and we had finally found a safe place to settle down. But when Hotaru discovered her alice, it wasn't long before the academy had discovered our location, too, and they came after my mom and I. So Hotaru willingly went with them to protect us from Alice Academy." Mikan looked at him sadly. "It was one of the worst days of my life. My mom told me all about the bad things at the academy and to know that Hotaru had gone there because of me…I just felt so…useless." She looked down in guilt. "My mom and I started running again. We never stayed in one place for long. The longest we ever stayed in a apartment or house was three weeks." Horrible memories flooded her mind, but she still continued. She didn't know why, but it felt good to talk about her past after all these years.

"I changed," Mikan admitted. "I was like Hotaru, but with a worse temper. People who knew about me were scared of me, and I liked to keep it that way. Because as long as people feared me, I knew they'd never get to my mom. But then," She fought to keep her tears at bay. "This man came and shot my mom when I wasn't with her. He caught her by surprise so she couldn't use any of her alices in time to protect herself. I came when the last bullet hit her body. I killed the man before he could shoot another bullet. I spent the rest of the day behind an old warehouse crying my eyes out, holding my mother's body."

She couldn't stop. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop herself from telling Natsume everything. _Hotaru was right,_ Mikan thought,_ I held thing's in for too long._ She continued talking. "Then my mom spoke. She told me to smile, and to always smile. So I did. Even after she died. Even after the academy took me, I still smiled, because that's what my mom would've wanted." Mikan blinked the tears away rapidly. "Eventually, my old personality kicked in, and I became the old me. When I was reunited with Hotaru at Alice Academy, everything got better. I made friends, the best friends I could ever ask for. And after nearly four years, Hotaru blackmailed the ESP and we got out. We had a lot of money, so we went out and got jobs. My adoptive grandpa from Osaka had moved to Tokyo and had built a bakery. I took over and hired Anna to work there with me. My friend Sumire introduced us, and we got along very well. Before I knew it, Nonoko came along and began helping out, too." Mikan took in a deep breath and said, "A few weeks later, I literally ran into this jerk who told me off," she gave a pointed glare at Natsume, who grinned. "So I yelled at him back, and somehow I ended up here."

Natsume chuckled. "You know, I didn't ask for a life story, but I am glad that you told me." His expression turned solemn. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I know you didn't deserve it."

His face held a genuine look to it, like he truly knew how it felt to lose someone you loved so much. It was then that Mikan knew she made the right decision in trusting him.

It seemed that Natsume grew curious again, for he then asked, "Why did the academy want you and your mother so badly?"

Mikan shook her head. "Nope, I believe it's my turn to ask a question now," she said playfully.

He sighed. "Fine, what do you want to ask me?"

"What's your alice?"

To Mikan's surprise, he held up his hand so that his palm was facing the sky. Then, without warning, fire emerged from nowhere and blazed peacefully just above the palm of Natsume's hand. It disappeared.

"The Fire Alice," Mikan whispered. It was a feared alice because of its power of destruction. Fire wielders were always in the Dangerous Ability Type Class and always were used as tools by the ESP.

"They used it against me and I was always forced to undergo missions given by the ESP and a sick man called Persona," Natsume told her. He didn't have to tell Mikan just who 'they' were, because she already knew. She knew more than most. "My turn," he spoke slyly. "I believe I've already asked you it, so you can just go ahead and answer. And while you're at it, tell me your alice, too." He leaned back, waiting for her to speak.

Mikan looked away, eyes downcast. Her alices greatly embarrassed her. She remembered how people used to call her thief, crook, and other awful names. Her alices were shameful and deadly; she was a cheat and a damn good one. And she hated it. She hated her alices. They were only good for protecting her mother, that was it. Everyone else had said so, too.

Natsume looked as if he sensed her reluctance. He sat up, took her hands in his and said, "You can tell me. I won't laugh or make fun of you, even if it's something like the Fart Alice."

Mikan laughed a little at his comment. Looking up at him shyly, she mumbled, "Nullification, Steal, and Insertion." She risked sneaking a peak at his reaction.

Natsume was astounded. Mikan could tell from the way his eyes widened and his eyebrows knitted together.

"Three alices?" he croaked. "And all of them extremely rare…No wonder the academy was after you." He looked at her, still holding her hands. "I know what Nullification is, but what about Steal and Insertion?" Natsume asked curiously. "Though they're quite self explanatory."

Mikan looked at him strangely. Why wasn't he afraid of her? Most people with alices would be trying their best to avoid her after finding out about her alices. That's why she only told those she trusted. But Natsume just seemed…interested. "I can steal a person's alice with one touch and either use it for myself, or use my Insertion Alice to turn it into an alice stone and insert it into someone else's body so that they can use it," she affirmed. Mikan dreaded his reaction.

"So, if you tried, you could steal my alice right now, and make me into a completely normal person," Natsume questioned.

She blinked. "Uh, yeah, I guess so."

He released her from his grasp and sat back, deep in thought. He looked at her again. "You must have really had something big on the ESP for him to have just let you and your friends leave unharmed," he mused.

"Wait a minute," said Mikan. "Why aren't you afraid of me stealing your alice? Most people with alices who don't know me try to stay as far away from me as they can, if I tell them."

Natsume stared at her from across the table. "Don't you think that if you actually wanted my alice, you'd have stolen it a long time ago? Like when I held your hand, or when you clumsily ran into me. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that your just another person who hasn't come to terms with their alice yet-or alices. I'd have to be a complete idiot to think that a retard like you would actually be a danger to me," he concluded with a careless wave of his hand.

But all of his insults and comments meant the world to her. "R-really?"

"Of course."

Mikan beamed, "Thank you, Natsume. I really appreciate it."

"You appreciate me calling you a retard?" Natsume scoffed. "You really are weird, Polka-dots."

"Not that, stupid," she tried to explain but realized it was pointless. He was probably just taking this chance to tease her more.

The two started to bicker. This lasted for a good half hour. One would insult the other, who would either return with another comeback or just defend him/herself to the best of his/her capability. Normally Mikan was the one to defend herself.

"Well you're an ass who can't seem to get enough from your sick ways and perverted antics!" She retorted with face flushed from anger.

"I'm perverted? You're the one who's been playing footsies with me for over five minutes now," Natsume said with an annoyed tick in his eyebrows.

Mikan tilted her head in confusion. "Natsume, I haven't even _touched_ your feet. How could I have been playing footsies with you?" she asked seriously.

He gaped.

She giggled when he immediately lifted the table cloth to look under. Frowning, he pulled out a furry, yellow animal of some sort and glared at her. "What the hell is this?"

Mikan let out a laugh. She had conjured it using one of the many alices she stole from the ESP. With this Creature Alice, she could conjure any amount of these fuzzy little things she wanted, and they'd all be under her control. Mikan called them jinsies. She never really used them, unless she was to lazy to get something or, in this case, wanted to see if someone was ticklish.

Unfortunately, Natsume wasn't the least bit ticklish, but the look on his face when he had discovered that it wasn't her who was playing with his feet had been priceless. Mikan never knew he could make such a hilarious expression.

She burst into a fit of giggles and laughs at his scowl when he held up the jinsy.

"I believe this _thing_ belongs to you," Natsume growled and handed the jinsy over to her. Mikan continued to laugh, even when she reached out for her 'pet.' She laughed until Natsume squeezed the jinsy until it popped and disintegrated into a puff of yellow smoke.

"Why did you do that?" Mikan gasped.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" he drawled.

A waiter (not the P.B. thank God) strode towards them and gave set two plates down onto their table. This officially ended their series of arguments. At least for now, that is.

Natsume looked at Mikan's eager face. Sighing, he said, "I guess this means the fun's over."

* * *

><p><em>What an idiot,<em> Natsume thought as he watched Mikan drift into another trance. Really, most girls would daze off because of _him_, not food. Annoyed by the lack of attention, he reached over and flicked her forehead.

"Ouch!" she yelled, earning more stares from nearby guests. In all honesty, the couple had earned more stares that night to last them a life time. "What was that for?" she demanded.

"For drooling over a pile of food. I mean, really, how delicious can food look when you're sitting next to me?" Natsume smirked arrogantly.

She flicked him back.

"Ouch!" he yelled, earning even _more _stares from guests all around. "What was that for?" he demanded.

"For drooling over your own self. I mean, really, how delicious can you look when your about to eat a five course meal like this?" Mikan mocked. Her imitation of him was quite impressive.

"Why do you ask? You want a bite?" he asked slyly, gesturing to himself.

Natsume laughed at her horror-stricken face. It looked like she just saw a murder. He laughed even more when she hit him forcefully on the arm.

"You perverted bastard!" Mikan barked. "Don't say things like that!"

He sniggered and stuck his fork into his plate. He ate his steak appreciatively.

Natsume looked across the table, expecting to see Mikan devouring her food like it was the last meal she'd ever have. Instead, he found her picking at her plate with a troubled expression.

"Why aren't you eating?" he asked curiously. "That pasta is the only reason you came in the first place, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Mikan trailed off.

"But what?" If she turned out to be anorexic or something, it would be more than a huge disappointment for Natsume.

"It's just that it's so pretty and it'd be a shame to wreck it by eating it!" she blurted out. Mikan looked down, embarrassed.

_Good, she _should_ be embarrassed, _Natsume thought. "So what you're telling me, is that you're not eating your food, because it is too…pretty?"

She nodded slowly.

Natsume laughed. Only Mikan could make him laugh like this. She was so stupid and cute at the same time.

"Shut up," she said.

He grinned, grabbed his knife, reached over and smashed up all her food. Soon enough, her once beautifully designed noodles were a big pile of mush.

Hesitantly, Mikan took a bite out of her pasta. She sighed in delight. "Thanks, Natsume."

He rolled his eyes. "You're welcome, Mikan."

She beamed.

"What?"

"You used my name." Her grin widened.

Natsume frowned. How did that happen? He hadn't even noticed. When had he even started referring to her as Mikan and not Polka-dots? Was it when they were arguing?

He looked over to see Mikan greedily eat her food. It wasn't as disgusting as he had thought watching her eat would be. Actually, she looked much like how a 10-year-old would.

Natsume's breathing stopped when she looked up and gave him another breath-taking smile.

Maybe it's not such a bad thing to call Mikan by her first name. So long as she kept looking at him like that, that is. Natsume never really called a girl by her first name except his sister, Aoi, and Luna. And he only called Luna that because he hated the name. a horrible name for a horrible person, he thought it fit her well and could find no other insult better to call her by except bitch. But then again, calling someone bitch never really got a woman into bed with anyone.

"What's the matter, Natsume? Aren't you going to eat?"

Natsume looked into Mikan's caramel coloured eyes. He replied, "Not if you're going to continue wrecking my appetite by eating like that."

She glowered at him. "Fine, then. I guess I'm just going to have to eat your steak for you." With that, she inched her hand towards his plate.

Faster than lightning, Natsume caught her fork with his and said, "Like hell that's going to happen. This is my favourite."

Mikan grinned. "Then eat it." She resumed her destruction upon her pasta.

Natsume rolled his eyes and started to eat, occasionally asking Mikan questions about her life, and she would return them with questions of her own.

It was the best date of Natsume's life.

* * *

><p>As the pair were walking back to Mikan's apartment, they shared a companionable silence.<p>

Natsume thought back to when Mikan told him about her life. She really had a tough life. Maybe even harder than his in the academy. His mother had died, too, but at least he didn't have to hold her body until she died, all the while trying to smile just to please her. How long had she lived alone until Alice Academy took her anyways? Months? Years? Natsume wasn't even sure if her wanted to know.

It did explain a lot, though, like why Imai was so accepting and protective towards her. It also explained why Natsume had never met Mikan in Alice Academy. Earlier, she had told him she arrived at the academy when she was eighteen, during the summer. Natsume and his friends had all left that horrible place as soon as the gates opened after graduation. He regretted it now. Just thinking about the four years he wasted without her made him irritated.

Natsume and Mikan reached her apartment door.

_When did that happen?_ Natsume asked himself. Last he thought, they were still a small ways from _the Amber Vines. _Did time really pass by that fast with Mikan?

He shook his head and focused on Mikan.

She smiled at him. "Thank you for a wonderful date, Natsume. I actually had a great time."

Natsume smirked, "So, it's a date now is it? No longer a 'meal between two people who have no relationship in any way except maybe friendship and a small hatred of some sort'?"

Mikan rose her eyebrows. "Wow, you really do have an impressing memory," she praised.

He wound his arm around Mikan's waist and pulled her close. Inches away from her blushing face, he said, "If this is a date, that means I have a right to kiss you."

He leaned in slowly, about to capture her plump lips.

Then her stupid hand came and pushed his face away!

He growled at her.

Mikan laughed. "Sorry, I never kiss on the first date."

"I hate to break it to you, but we're not sixteen anymore," he retorted with a roll of his eyes.

How annoying, he was just about to finally kiss her, and she pushed him away! This was so frustrating.

Natsume felt Mikan peck his cheek. Astonished, Natsume stared at her with a questioning look.

"It was that good of a date," said Mikan. Slowly she eased her way out of his hold and gave him another kiss on the cheek. "That one was for the amazing food. I'll never forget it." She opened her door and smiled at him.

"See you later, Mikan," Natsume said.

"Bye, Natsume," Mikan returned. She closed the door.

Grinning a big, stupid grin like a big, stupid idiot, Natsume made his way towards the elevator and soon left the building.

That was one of the sweetest kisses he had ever had, even thought it wasn't on the lips. Natsume couldn't wait to kiss her for real. It felt so right to hold her in his arms. It was like he was protecting her from the terrors of her life.

He would make sure that there would be more dates to come. Otherwise, Natsume was sure that no woman would ever satisfy him ever again. Hell, they might not even satisfy him _now._

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Done. It took a while, but there you go.

Please RxR, and tell me your favourite part or chapter so that I can make the story even more to your liking ;) Critical comments are appreciated! I'd also like to have a beta reader but I don't know how to PM or email one. I guess I could just click the large heading titled, "Beta Readers" but no, that would be too smart. So, if you want to help me out or even if you want to make suggestions for the story, please PM me so that I can use it or something.

If you like my story, then you'll love _Before You Hit The Ground_, by Ducky-san (though I'm sure most of you have read it already). I'd also like to recommend stories from My Hopless Romantic and Ejo. Those two are seriously talented.


	5. To Those Who Pry

Done.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five: To Those Who Pry<strong>

Placing her fifth can of pickled lobster legs down, Hotaru looked at the clock. 9:23, it said. She turned off the television.

Mikan should be home soon.

Standing up, Hotaru began to dutifully clean up her seafood. It was very boring. She sighed. As much as she hate to admit it, she had become very fond of Mikan over the years. Hotaru stopped. No, she wasn't fond; she had just taken a great liking to her. If Hotaru really was fond of her, then she doubted she would treat Mikan like she did now. Nevertheless, no one had snuck their pitiful way into Hotaru's life like Mikan had.

Which was why Hotaru was so damn protective of her.

She put her dirty bowl into the sink and paused. Natsume Hyuuga. Just the name made her cringe in disgust. In Alice Academy, he was the biggest playboy and had also hurt so many girls. Hotaru could barely manage to walk through a hallway without hearing the nauseating sounds of girls blubbering over Hyuuga. It was sickening.

That boy wouldn't stick with a girl for more than a month, and that soon decreased to two weeks, which also decreased to a few days. To be honest, Hotaru didn't know there were so many girls in the academy.

The only reason Hyuuga had any relationships whatsoever was because of the sex. It was plain and simple.

So why the hell was he so interested in Mikan? _Anyone_ could see that she was pure, innocent (when it came to adult matters), and a fucking idiot who despised playboys. Besides, the only reason she was agreeing to going out with Hyuuga was because of the food he had promised her. Normally, such a girl would…Was there even such a girl?

Hotaru frowned. No one was like Mikan. None that she could think of, anyways. Maybe that was why Hyuuga was so intent on bedding her. Yes, that was a plausible answer. He just saw Mikan as a challenge.

Then why did he look at Mikan like that?

She thought back to when that homicidal bear threw Mikan out of his room/closet. Hotaru had expected him to leave right then and there. Nothing would have pleased her more than to have seen him roll those stupid, red eyes of his and walk back out that door.

But he didn't. Instead, being the annoying loser he was that never followed her wishes, he stood there and stared at her. In all the of the years that Hotaru had known him, he had never let so much emotion slip as he did that moment.

It was weird.

Hyuuga's eyes were full of some sort of disgusting joy or warmth or something. To sum it all up, those emotions did not suit him in the least, or at all, for that matter.

Hotaru's eyes narrowed. She didn't even get to finish threatening him. All because Mikan had to be stupid and get herself thrown out of a closet. What a dope.

The front door closed. Hotaru's ears perked. It sounded like Mikan finally returned from her dinner.

While walking into the living room, Hotaru found Mikan laying on the couch resting peacefully, eyes closed.

Frowning, Hotaru made her way over and picked up the blanket off the loveseat. Heading towards Mikan, she pulled out her all-in-one remote control and with half-lidded eyes, pressed a diamond-shaped green button.

The couch swung backwards severely, causing its unaware occupant to fall gracelessly onto the hard floor.

Hotaru wrapped the blanket around herself; she was a little cold.

"What the hell was that for, Hotaru!" demanded a furious Mikan on the ground. She looked like a heap of unnaturally placed limbs.

Hotaru answered after calmly walking over and sitting on the couch. "You were in my spot. I will not allow you to contaminate my couch," she said coldly.

"B-but _I _was…" Mikan whined annoyingly (most things she did were annoying to Hotaru) until seemingly realizing that the more she whined, the more irritated Hotaru would get, ergo, the more severe her next punishment would be for her. Giving up, Mikan immediately stood and grumbled all the way over to the loveseat.

"Besides," Hotaru started, "you still haven't told me about your date."

Mikan blushed, crossed her arms and looked away.

"You don't have to act like a pathetic, little school girl, I just wanted to know how it went."

Mikan sighed, defeated, and looked at Hotaru. "It went…better than expected." She stared out the window for a few moments…and then a few more…

"Is that all you're going to say?" Hotaru asked, losing her patience.

Her voice seemed to snap the Idiot out of her daze. She turned to face Hotaru and pressed a slender finger to her chin. The Idiot did that a lot when she was thinking.

"Uh, at first he was very rude and a bit of a jerk," she frowned at the memory of all the rude names Hyuuga must have called her. "But then, when we got to the restaurant," Mikan scrunched her eyebrows together, as if she couldn't figure out the reason for her next words, "He stole my hand. I think it may have been to make sure I didn't get lost, but I might be wrong. When we were talking, he asked me how I met you and Anna and Nonoko.

"I tried not to tell him much about…you know…but everything just started tumbling out and I eventually told him about my alices." Mikan looked down with a small smile growing steadily. "Natsume didn't care about my stealing alice, Hotaru. He wasn't afraid of me or anything. He was only curious about my life and we got on to talking." Mikan looked at Hotaru again. "Natsume's actually okay at conversation…if you can get him to keep talking, that is…and if he's not being stupid…I think some of the conversations were kind of one-sided…"

Hotaru looked at her, surprised. Hyuuga had actually taken an interest in her past? She had never heard him asking any girl about her life. He only used lines that he knew would get a girl into bed with him.

She let Mikan ramble on and only listened when something truly worth taking note of came up.

"What I still don't get is why he isn't afraid of my alices," continued Mikan. "Everyone else who finds out about my alice is at least _somewhat_ scared or shaken. He wasn't even _fazed_. The only other person like that was you, Hotaru."

This was completely true, of course. Hotaru had found no reason to fear anyone, especially not a girl who seemed more afraid of herself than she was of others. Hotaru figured Hyuuga thought along the same lines as her. She waited for Mikan to tell her more. She didn't have to wait for long.

"And the food…Oh, it was _amazing!_" she exclaimed, stars in her eyes.

Hotaru frowned. She let Mikan talk passionately about food and nodded along just to humor her. Meanwhile, she thought about more important things.

She had originally thought that Hyuuga just wanted to get Mikan into bed. Clearly she had miscalculated. If he didn't want to bed Mikan, maybe he wanted to become friends with her.

Hotaru quickly waved off that idea. The mere thought of Hyuuga going out of his way to make friends was not only laughable, but highly improbable, as well.

_Then what?_ she thought. Her thoughts were racing millions of miles per minute. She vaguely remembered her main source of income in Alice Academy, Nogi, telling her how much Natsume actually resented his popularity among girls. Hotaru had investigated this fact for weeks. It seemed that Nogi was telling the truth, though it was quite hard to tell, even for her.

"Don't you think so Hotaru?"

Hotaru nodded absentmindedly. Mikan's stupid talk was like an annoying buzz in her ear. But she knew that it wouldn't be worth hitting Mikan which to break her valuable train of thought just for some measly quiet. Hotaru had already out-grown the need for quiet just to think properly.

Before she could complete her studies of Hyuuga, they had already graduated and the damn Elementary School Principal had forced her to stay to teach science to children.

Oh, how she hated that beastly, little man-child.

It was no use. Hotaru couldn't make any assumptions about Hyuuga's motives without having some sort of evidence that proved otherwise or doubt that her trust-worthy gut told her.

It was settled. Hotaru would have to continue her studies on Hyuuga and it would start as soon as Mikan talked herself to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Welcome back, Master Hyuuga."<p>

Natsume nodded his thanks to the doorman before walking into the large elevator. He stood there, by himself, when the grin returned.

_Stop it_, he commanded himself. He fought to get his emotions under control. Thankfully, he managed to do so before a nice _Ding!_ made itself heard.

His elevator was _much_ better than Mikan's, especially with her horrible, ear-murdering buzzer.

Calmly walking to his apartment (if you could call it that), Natsume opened the door and was greeted with wide, brown eyes peering curiously into his crimson ones, merely inches away.

"So, how'd it go?" was all Koko managed to say before Natsume stepped back in alarm, only to step forward again to push him roughly onto the floor.

"Ouch! What was that for!" his annoying friend groaned from the ground. He seemed to be spending a lot of time there lately.

Tsubasa leaned against a wall and said bluntly, "Either for scaring him or asking him stupid questions when you could have just read his mind." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe both," he added.

Koko stood up immediately. "It couldn't have been the 'not reading his mind' part, 'cause whenever I do, he just gets mad and hurts me anyway."

"Then you got hurt because you scared him, obviously."

Koko faced Natsume and asked, "Really? I actually scared you? If I did then-"

A blast of flames swept both him and Tsubasa off their feet. Their bodies lay twenty feet behind them.

More groaning followed.

"Ruka," Natsume called out furiously, "Where the _hell_ are you?"

A timid-looking blonde stepped out of the kitchen and walked towards him. "Uh, hi Natsume." He obviously knew why he was so pissed, but Natsume told him anyway.

"You bastard. I thought I told you _not_ to let anyone in my apartment," recalled Natsume. He then gestured towards the pile of slightly burnt bodies. "What do you call this?"

Ruka smiled sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry, okay? We were all just wondering about your date."

Natsume ignored him and scanned the entrance of his apartment. "There's one missing," he noted.

"Yuu is in the washroom, I think," Ruka answered, knowingly. He always knew what Natsume meant, even if he only mumbled a few incoherent words. "I suspect he'll be out in a bit. You know, to help those two."

He snorted. Yuu was such a mom. If he wasn't taking care of others, then he was worrying about them. Yuu Tobita really needed to grow a pair. That's what Natsume thought, at least. Still, he made a pretty loyal friend.

Soon enough, the frail illusionist came rushing over to help Tsubasa and Koko to their wobbly feet.

"Are you alright?" Yuu asked hurriedly.

Tsubasa nodded and stood up shakily. He shook himself out of his groggy pain. His crispy, blue hair crackled in the sudden movement. "That was so uncalled for, Natsume. It would've been so much easier just to tell us to shut up or maybe even _hit_ us."

Koko nodded his agreement. His pale blonde hair was smoking a bit. He kept randomly patting his head to make sure that none of the glowing sparks in his head had caught fire.

Natsume glared at them. "You're lucky I didn't use _more_ fire," he said, narrowing his eyes. What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?" There wasn't much he hated more than people sneaking into his private affairs, especially those who already knew how much he hated it.

Koko grinned up at him saying, "Because we know how much you missed us. We didn't want you to cry over your pathetic loneliness any longer." He clasped his hand in a very lady-like manner before saying seriously, "But really, stop spending so much time by yourself. It's weird."

This time his hair really _did _catch fire. Koko gasped and-not being unfamiliar to this sort of situation-instantly sprinted to the nearest shower, jumped in, and turned on the tap, effectively soaking him to the bone but saving his hair nonetheless. He just wished that the flames wouldn't get bigger when he ran like that.

He looked at his nearly-balded head through the mirror after stepping out of the shower.. After whistling, he said cheerily, "Good thing I bought that hair renewal spray from Central Town last month. That stuff works wonders."

"Damnit, Koko, stay in the bathroom until you're dry. I don't need you wrecking my stuff with your water," Natsume growled. That boy pissed him right off. Shifting his attention to Ruka, he said with barely contained anger, "Give me back my key. I don't care if one of the ESP's assassins come here and kill me in my sleep and I have to rot in this hellhole because no one can get into my apartment without a key. If I have to come back to this nightmare every time I come home, I might as well kill myself."

Ruka sighed as he dug his hand into his pocket and threw the key to Natsume, who caught it gracefully.

Tsubasa leaned against yet another wall and asked, "Are you gonna tell us about the date or what? Come on, man, we're dying here."

Natsume looked at him. " I don't have to tell you guys anything."

"Hey Koko!" Tsubasa called to the sulking figure in the bathroom. "Read Natsume's mind and tell us how his date went."

Slowly, almost creepily, Koko's head emerged from the bathroom door. Everyone watched as his original grin morphed into a horror-stricken face.

Natsume smirked. His mental threat must have worked.

Apparently, Tsubasa realized this for he made his way to Koko and said, "Just ignore him and his empty threats. Just read his mind."

"They didn't sound so empty to me. There were even images of what he was going to do!"

Tsubasa rolled his eyes. "Honestly, the peaking into people's minds is the only thing you can do and you can't even do _that_ right. Didn't your mom tell you to ignore bullies and their threats?"

"No, my mom told me to never give in to peer pressure." Koko looked at him accusingly.

"Yes, but I'm not your peer, I'm your elder. And as your elder, I command you to ignore Natsume's threats." He threw back.

"Some elder you are…"

Yuu approached them slowly and, waving his hands in front of his chest, he said, "Come on, guys, there's no need to fight. I'm sure we can work this out by-"

He was interrupted by a large crash. Yuu rushed over to the bathroom. There was a series of yelling and attempted peacemaking sounds coming from the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Ruka stood laughing next to Natsume. "You've got to admit they're fun to watch."

"They have their moments," admitted Natsume.

Ruka looked at Natsume. He was spacing off again, but this time he didn't have a frown on his face. In fact, Ruka was having difficulty telling what he was even thinking.

It was when he noticed the small smile that graced Natsume's hard features that Ruka decided to voice his thoughts. "Natsume, what's with the look?"

His small question was enough to stop the bickering of Tsubasa, Koko, and the 'peace maker,' Yuu. Everyone stared at Natsume, waiting for an answer.

Tsubasa whistled a low note when they didn't get one. "Wow, she must really be something." He grinned secretively.

"Was she really that good of a lay?" asked Koko.

Natsume knew that he only asked him that to piss him off. That bastard already knew what happened. But instead of setting fire to him again, he merely snorted and answered, "As if. That stubborn girl wouldn't even let me kiss her."

Satisfied with everyone's reaction, Natsume walked to the kitchen and got himself a long-awaited beer.

* * *

><p>"Hotaru, I don't know why you have to get such a short haircut." Mikan wrinkled her nose slightly. "You'd look even more beautiful if you grew out your hair!," she exclaimed. "And just think, you won't have to come to Permy's salon every three weeks to get it trimmed." Mikan smiled when she saw Misaki and Sumire nod their heads in agreement.<p>

"Not to mention it makes you look like a boy," Sumire voiced in her usual loud and commanding manner.

Misaki and Mikan laughed at that. They had many jokes in the past about Sumire's disapproval of Hotaru's sense of style and hair. She had always thought that Hotaru always looked like she was going to an interview.

"Excuse me," started the irritated inventor, "I was under the impression that_ I_ owned this body, not you." Hotaru gave Sumire an especially cold look.

"But I-"

"Now that I think about it, I _am_ the owner of my body. And by being said owner, I can do whatever I want with my body and should not have to deal with any idiot who does not know their place screeching about how 'masculine' or 'ugly' I look. Especially if that person was my 'friend.'" Hotaru 's cool expression remained this entire speech. Not one ounce of emotion was revealed except annoyance.

Mikan mentally applauded her best friend. That girl really ought to give her some lessons (free) on how to look so impassive and intimidating.

Sumire sighed, "Alright, alright, I'll stop pestering you." She resumed trimming Hotaru's hair and added a mumbled, "For now," under her breath.

"So," Misaki clapped her hands abruptly, causing Mikan to jump, "You guys are coming to dinner with Tsubasa and I tomorrow, right?"

"Like I'd miss out on a dinner at a nice restaurant," Mikan said, sneaking her way to Sumire's rather tall shelf of fluorescent-coloured hair products.

They were separated into two groups: regular, everyday hair products and questionable concoctions developed by alices and sold at Central Town. Almost everyone preferred the alice-made products, but that might be because they were more expensive (so of course they must work better) and/or had the 'power to create glossy, shiny, goddess-like curls' or have amusing side-effects.

Some of the products were bought and used to prank people. But Sumire didn't object, so long as she was making money and it wasn't _her_ that was being pranked.

Mikan selected a brink, pink-coloured tube the size of her pinky. She inspected it curiously. She barely heard the conversation around her.

Sumire paused mid-cut and thought for a moment. "Hmm…I get to go out to dinner and impress everyone with my new dress that I'll go and buy today and eat delicious, low-fat food while in the presence of five men." She grinned cheekily at Misaki. "I'm pretty sure you know what my answer is. By the way," Sumire ran a comb through Hotaru's dark hair, "These guys…are they hot?"

Mikan almost dropped the tube at that. She never had been comfortable with Sumire's way of describing men. That might be because she was innocent with these things, or maybe it was because she never had much experience with them.

Misaki, however, was unfazed by Sumire's question. "You bet they are." She gave a playful wink. "Drop dead gorgeous."

It was Hotaru's turn for a question. "Who is it that we are eating with?"

Misaki replied by sticking her index finger and thumb together and moving her hand across her mouth in a zipping motion. "Can't tell. But I assure you, you won't be disappointed."

"Finished!" Sumire announced as she took off the tarp around Hotaru and gave her a mirror to look at her newly-trimmed hair.

"So we're going on a blind date?" Hotaru spoke the words with great distaste. "How degrading." She turned her head to each side, inspecting her hair closely. Finally, she gave a nod and said, "This is acceptable, Permy. I won't charge you."

Sumire blinked. "Uh, actually, I'm supposed to charge _you_, remember?"

"I refuse to pay you for something I could have easily done myself."

"You didn't pay last time!" Sumire barked. "And you can't do it by yourself. Cutting hair requires creativity and style, both of which you lack."

Hotaru glared at her. "I could invent a robot to do it, a robot that wouldn't insult my choice of hairstyle every time I get it cut."

Mikan mentally blocked out their argument. She spaced out and when her mind drifted towards Natsume, she immediately blocked him out, as well, and switched her attention back to the tube. It was one of many and she found that the small pink tube of purple cream was curiously interesting.

Making sure no one was looking, Mikan quickly unscrewed the lid and squeezed some of the purple gunk onto her hand. It was sticky. The cream attached itself onto her palm and wouldn't seem to let go. She laughed softly when it moved ever so slightly.

It was when it started to boil that Mikan started to worry.

Panicking, she waved her hand around furiously, desperately trying to get it off. But to no avail, that tenacious blob of cream would not let go. She tried flicking it off with her other hand, but that only succeeded in making things worse. Running out of ideas, Mikan hastily scraped it all off onto the bottom of her shoe.

_Well,_ she thought,_ that worked out nicely._ Then she started walking. The hateful cream caused her to slip right into the counter.

"Ow!" she yelled. "Stupid thing…"

"Honestly, Mikan, you have to be more careful." Misaki came and helped her to her feet. She started to sniff around the room, lifting her nose up. "What's that smell?"

Mikan shrugged, not wanting to attract any more attention. She took one step towards Hotaru and the damn cream made a screeching noise and caused her to slide rapidly into the direction of a hard, brick wall.

Using all her strength, Mikan spun around and began running in the other direction. But that only made her slide faster in the other direction. She collided into the product shelf.

It was when she was falling that Mikan used her Time Control Alice to slow down her fall. It took a total of ten seconds until her bottom touched the ground. In the course of those ten seconds, Misaki had made what looked like thirty doppelgangers and had caught all of the various containers and bottles that fell with Mikan. All, except for the small, bright pink-coloured tube that rolled to Sumire's feet.

Sumire bent down and picked it up. Scowling, she turned to give Mikan her most angry look. "You touched this, didn't you?" she accused.

Mikan, still on the ground, nodded her head slowly.

"Damnit, Mikan! I told you not to touch any of this stuff! Don't you know that misusing hair wax is dangerous? What if you got seriously hurt?" She looked at Mikan, who muttered several apologies.

Hotaru looked at Mikan through half-lidded eyes. "I don't know how you manage to keep up with Natsume's talk with that brain of yours."

"What?" Sumire looked at Hotaru with wide eyes. "Natsume as in the guy from Alice Academy? What does he have to do with any of this?"

Mikan blushed a little. She saw both Hotaru and Misaki grin secretively. _Why is Misaki grinning?_

"He took Mikan out on a date yesterday." Hotaru smirked at the look on Sumire's face. Her mouth hung open and her eyebrows threaded together tightly. Overall, these things gave her a rather comical appearance.

"You've got to be kidding. Why would Natsume be interested in Mikan? Unless…" She turned her attention to Mikan, who grew more uncomfortable with each passing second. "Did he sleep with you?"

The blood on Mikan's face drained completely until she was a pale grey. Then, almost immediately, it rushed right back up from her anger when she shouted, "As if! Like I'd let that pervert even lay one of his dirty little fingers on me!" She huffed and returned to the arduous task of scouring the stupid, pink gunk off of her shoes. They were probably ruined for life.

"Liar."

Mikan snapped her head in Hotaru's direction. "I am _not_ lying!" she argued.

"Then what do you call this?" Hotaru inquired as she pulled out a picture from her purse.

All three girls peered down to the look at the picture. Mikan gasped. In the picture, Natsume had encased Mikan in his arms, who had closed her eyes and was in the middle of giving him a kiss on the cheek.

She screeched. "Hotaru!" Frantically, Mikan snatched the photo away and ripped it up into tiny pieces which scattered on the floor. "I told you to stop taking pictures of everyone who stops at our front door!"

Hotaru looked at her unsympathetically. "And I told _you_ that I need to keep track of those pesky Arab businessmen who refuse to stop following me home," she retorted.

Mikan fumed. She hated it when Hotaru took pictures of her when she was doing something private. Like that time when they were younger and Hotaru had decided to test out her new camera on her when she was unsuspecting and taking a shower. Ugh.

"Woah, I didn't know you had it in you, Mikan," Misaki approved. "I always thought that you were the shy type…you know, around guys."

"Hardly," Hotaru snorted, earning another glare from Mikan. She looked at Sumire's disappointed face and said, "Are you jealous? Because if you are, that is really low of you. I thought that you said you were over him."

Sumire quickly shook her head and replied, "I am! I was just…a little disappointed, is all." She looked down for a moment. Then her head snapped back up with that mischievous glint in her eyes. "Besides, in case you forgot, I have a boyfriend."

"Who?" Mikan

Sumire whirled around. "Why, Koko, of course," she replied with a wave of her hand.

"Who's Koko?"

"The cutest and most annoying thing in the world."

"Oh."

Misaki cut into the conversation. "So, Mikan…how was the date?"

"Yeah, was he a good kisser?" Sumire joined in. "I've been wondering that for years…"

"You're such a pervert, Permy," insulted Mikan. That girl was seriously too obsessed over guys. Sighing, she looked at all three of them and said, "The food was great. Natsume was off and on."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" demanded Sumire.

"Yeah, really, Mikan. Can't you give us a straight answer?" Misaki added.

Mikan felt a headache coming on. She knew that those two were going to be prying their devious, little ways into her business, that's why she was so vague with her answer. She really didn't want to talk about her night with Natsume with anyone. She had already told Hotaru, why should she have to tell anyone else?

Mikan rubbed her temples. Those two were still asking question about her date.

She caught Hotaru's gaze. The two best friends shared a secret look. This had happened more than once and both of them were very experienced in this kind of matter.

Moving swiftly, like her mother had taught her, Mikan threw her slippery shoes off her feet and flipped back towards the door. Hotaru took out a strange gun that blasted a net towards Misaki and Sumire, who screamed and fell.

Waving cheerily, Mikan headed out of the restaurant and decided to go to the bakery. It might be tiring working there, but it must be a whole lot better than this hell hole.

She hated it when so many question were thrown at her at one time. She remembered when she was kidnapped several times and creepy men had interrogated her and beaten her when she didn't answer their stupid questions at sufficient length. Only her mother could save her from those horrible places. Her mother would always save her, and when Mikan disappeared, Yuka would not stop and rest until she had found her and both of them were safe. But the one person who Mikan _knew_ would defend her and stay with her until no end was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

><p>Ruka took another sip of beer. He and his friends were at <em>Scarlett T's <em>which was a bar that had attracted their attention a few years ago.

Actually, that was a bit of a lie. The five of them had walked by and both Natsume and Koko had pointed out the many 'hot chicks' drinking in there, and had walked in. Ever since, all of them had gotten together every second weekend and hung out at _Scarlett T's_, despite Yuu's protests and revulsion. He didn't think it was gentlemanly to go to a bar all the time. But he still came with them and even had a beer or two once in a while.

Ruka laughed at the look on Yuu's face when a young, blonde woman wearing skimpy clothing walked by, winking at him.

"God, Yuu, it's like you're gay or something," commented Tsubasa. Everyone nodded their agreement. "Besides, how am I supposed to get you off our backs and start mothering your _own_ children if you don't have any?"

"Yeah," agreed Koko solemnly, "it's hard to make children with a dude_._"

Ruka grinned, "Why the long face, Koko? Are you that disappointed with that fact?"

"I am most certainly _not_ disappointed."

Ruka and Tsubasa laughed. When Tsubasa, Koko, and Yuu started a oddly interesting conversation about gay marriages, Ruka took his chance to talk to Natsume.

Ruka stared wide-eyed as Natsume sat quietly, staring out the only window in the bar. He stared blankly for several moments, then quickly scanned the crowded room, only to look back out the window.

"Hey, Natsume, are you okay? You look kinda…funny," Ruka bit out tentatively.

Natsume turned his fierce gaze over to Ruka, who immediately regretted not thinking before he spoke. "Do I look funny to you? Is there something strangely wrong with my face that makes me look that hilarious to you?"

"Calm down, I just wanted to make sure you were okay!" Ruka exclaimed hurriedly. "No need to bite my head off." He turned his head downwards. Why was Natsume so pissed, anyway?

His friend looked at him softly. Sighing, Natsume said, "Look, I didn't mean it that way. I'm just frustrated, that's all."

"Don't worry about it. So," he yawned, trying to appear indifferent, "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing."

"There's obviously something on your mind. Otherwise your PMSing early, and that doesn't happen for two and a half more weeks," reasoned Ruka.

Natsume glared at him, but that was it (though the glare was quite frightening). He never did anything to hurt Ruka, even when he was furious. The most he ever did to him was a very hard flick on his forehead.

"I already told you, nothing is wrong with me. I'm just tired. So just drop it, Ruka," Natsume grumbled.

Ruka threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine, but remember, don't keep things bottled up inside. It's not good for you. You constantly get mood swing sand they seemed to have gotten worse lately," he said worriedly. "Except yesterday, until you came home and saw us."

Natsume grunted, "Anyone would get in a bad mood because of those three. I don't even know if they're worth the trouble." After taking a long swig of his drink and looked at Ruka one last time before saying, "I'm not thinking about what I'm normally thinking about, if that helps any. So just go on and do something with Koko. He looks constipated again."

Ruka laughed. At least Natsume was contented enough to make fun of his friends. That was always a good sign.

"Oh, right. Hey guys, you free tomorrow night?" Tsubasa asked them all. Everyone replied with either "no's" or the simple shake of the head. "Good, cause we're all going out to dinner. Misaki's got some fine ladies lined up for you guys."

That caught even Natsume's attention.

"You mean…blind dates?" Koko bit out.

"With strangers?" Yuu whimpered. He never was a ladies man, and unfamiliar women were even more terrifying to him than those he knew.

Natsume crossed his arms defiantly and objected, "I don't do blind dates."

"Yeah, I'm with Natsume on this one," affirmed Ruka, "Nothing goes well on blind dates. Those girls get all hyper and weird when they meet us."

It was true. All five of them were more than one girl's perfect image of a man. Koko was the playful, mischievous guy, Tsubasa the skater boy (despite his age), Yuu the cute, sensitive guy, Ruka the gentlemanly prince, and Natsume, of course, was the traditional bad boy that every girl fell for.

Tsubasa waved it off. "Misaki said that these girls aren't like that. And besides," he looked at them all seriously. "She's been dying to see you guys again after she got out of the academy and she's only seen Natsume. Are you saying that you will miss reuniting with Misaki just because go out on a measly blind date?" His dark eyes rested on each guilty face. "And besides," he added, "there aren't even enough girls for all of you. So one of you is going to get off free."

Koko's frown grew into a mischievous smirk. Ruka groaned. That lucky guy was going to be the one without the clingy girl, he just knew it. He was probably going to act all disgusting and stuff, things that Ruka could never _dream_ of doing. No, his mother taught him better.

But it seemed like Tsubasa had convinced everyone to go, even Natsume, thought he didn't look happy about it at all.

"I refuse to do any flirting," he said bluntly. "Besides, the stupid bet's still on. I can't flirt with _any _girl except Polka-dots."

_That must be his nickname for the girl,_ Ruka realized.

Koko gave Natsume a thoughtful look. "But that isn't why you aren't even talking to any girls, is it?" He smiled mischievously. "Love your thoughts by the way. Very interesting" he commented, earning him a small lump from an ice cube thrown across the table.

"Natsume," Tsubasa started, "you haven't even checked anyone out. Normally you flirt with at least _some_ good-looking girls when you aren't planning to sleep with anybody."

"Want me to tell them why, Natsume dear?" volunteered Koko.

Natsume scowled at him. "You better not, or else those threats you read from my mind last night _will_ happen. And you _will_ be dead by the end of it." With that said and done, Natsume moved out of the booth.

"Where are you going?' called Ruka.

"Washroom."

The four of them watched Natsume walk away, shocked.

"So there is a reason why he isn't trying to hook up with anyone besides the bet." Yuu frowned.

"What the hell?" Tsubasa exclaimed, astounded.

"Is he serious?" Yuu asked Ruka.

He thought for a moment. "I think so. I don't know if I've ever seen him like this before."

Tsubasa whipped around. "Koko, quick, read his mind," he commanded.

"Already on it," Koko smiled slyly. "Thought it's not that hard to hear. His thought are practically _screaming_ at me." He refocused his attention onto Natsume.

Tsubasa, Ruka and Yuu all watched as his expression shifted from amusement to confusion, to shock, then, finally, delight. He turned to his friends in barely suppressed laughs. "You guys are never gonna believe this."

* * *

><p>Natsume slammed his hands down onto the bathroom sink. "Damnit!" Something was wrong with him. And it was frustrating him like hell.<p>

Why didn't any girl capture his attention? Even the slender red head in the booth next to their's didn't do anything for him. It was weird, not being remotely attracted to any girl he laid his eyes on, no matter how hard he tried. But he knew why. It was because of her.

_Mikan._

It was all because of her. No other woman's eyes could challenge her sparkling, hazel wonders. Her long, bouncy hair looked so silky and smooth, Natsume had to stop himself from running his fingers through it. When she smiled, he knew it was because she was happy and not because she was faking it and definitely not because she was trying to lure him into bed. Mikan would only spare him one little peck on the cheek.

Who does that? Natsume at least expected an actual kiss on the mouth, if not something more. It was driving him crazy, not knowing why she didn't kiss him. Was it because he was to forward? Or was he not talkative enough for her blabbering nature? She really talked a lot. But that was fine, since Natsume could just tell her to shut up, after which Mikan would get mad at him for 'being so rude.'

A thought entered his mind. What if she didn't like him?

Natsume immediately shook his head. No, that wasn't it. That girl had laughed nearly all through the night, if she wasn't making fun of him or calling him a pervert or accusing him of being rude.

Then what?

This was giving him a migraine. He couldn't think anymore. One thought led to another and Natsume wasn't getting any answers. He knew what to do.

After splashing some cold water on his face, Natsume stepped out of the bathroom and into the packed bar. He sought out the red head from before. His eyes skimmed over the tops of heads until he found the woman he was looking for. She was now talking to the bar tender with a bubbly smile on her face.

He would get his mind of Mikan by sleeping with her. Of course, he'd have to block out the thoughts of sleeping with her to keep that damn Koko from blabbering it to everyone. His pride wouldn't let him lose a bet to his friends.

Striding over, Natsume put one hand in his pocket and leaned against the counter. He made it look like he was waiting for the red head to stop talking to the bar tender so that he could get a drink. Natsume only had to wait for three seconds.

The red head's attention was on him. She put a flirty hand on his arm and bent towards him.

Smirking, Natsume turned his head to look at the girl. He froze.

She had hazel eyes. Just like Mikan's. And they sparkled, too. Just like Mikan's. Natsume felt himself go sick.

Her long, narrow face molded itself until it was heart-shaped and adorably plump, her formerly thin lips smiling wildly. The red hair that had been cropped so short before extended until it was nearly at her waist and curled at the tips. Several shades of brown and caramel wove their way into her old flaming hair. Her smile only grew until it was just like Mikan's.

She _was_ Mikan.

It wasn't until she spoke that Natsume knew he had to get out of there. "Hey, you wanna come to my place? I've got a stereo that needs fixing."

"I have to go," Natsume blurted out.

As quickly as he could, Natsume dashed out of the bar, forgetting his friends and everything else. Only one thought was on his mind.

"What has she done to me?"

* * *

><p>"Nice job, Yuu," Tsubasa said to the short-haired boy when the sparkles around him started to fade. He patted his back. "It's about time you used your alice for something useful."<p>

Yuu frowned and started to object when Koko jumped in.

"Hey, I did half the work! Yuu wouldn't even know what What's-her-face looks like if I hadn't planted Natsume's memory in his mind." He ended with a nod.

Tsubasa rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said, defeated, "Good job, Koko."

Yuu chewed on his nails restlessly. "I just can't believe I used my illusion alice to trick Natsume like that. I practically manipulated him!"

Ruka couldn't believe it either.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Let it be known that I am very, very sorry for the long wait. It's jsut been a bit hectic at home, is all. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as the previous ones.

I'm thinking of writing a oneshot of Mikan and Natsume. The plot's been on my mind for a while now and I just can't seem to get it out of my head. If I do, though, I'll be sure to keep you posted.

By the way, I changed the genre of this story to Romance/Humour instead of Romance/Drama. I didn't mean to write this story with humour in it, it just sort of...happened. But I promise there _will_ be drama later on in the story.

Reviews greatly appreciated!


	6. Ghastly Reunions

**Chapter Six: Ghastly Reunions**

The mall. A place full of wonders, good times and bad times, dates and break-ups, and most of all, girls' day outs - a whole damn lot of them.

Speaking of which, four girls were in the middle of one of those famed get-togethers, though not all of them enjoyed it.

"How about this one, Hotaru?" Mikan asked, pulling out a knee-cut red dress.

"That's disgusting. I refuse," Hotaru sneered after one short glance at it.

Mikan roughly hung the dress on a rack. "Well, you haven't liked anything so far, and I'm getting sick and tired of your attitude!"

Hotaru rolled her eyes and replied, "I fail to see why I have to buy a new dress. It's not as if I don't have anything suitable at home."

"That might be true," agreed Mikan, "but that doesn't mean you can't get a new one every once in a while. Besides, it's not like you can't afford it."

"If a person can afford a luxurious trip around the world, does that mean he should?" came Hotaru's sardonic response.

Mikan sighed in exasperation. Hotaru was always like this whenever they went to the mall to buy clothes. The only reason she even came today was to stop Misaki and Sumire from 'nagging' and 'harassing' her.

Truth be told, Mikan didn't really want to come either. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to go out on the blind date at all. One of the only reasons that she and Hotaru had even agreed to go in the first place was because of the food. Pleasing Misaki was only a minor factor.

"Can't you just buy a dress to satisfy Misaki and Permy?" pleaded Mikan one last time. "It would mean a lot to Permy. And I'm sure that she won't stop irritating you if you don't."

It seemed that her 'sweet-talk' had finally won Hotaru over. The amethyst-eyed girl considered this, rolling the thought around in her head.

"Fine," she said finally, her voice showing no emotion, "But _you_ have to pay for my dress."

"That's not fair!"

"'It's not like you can't afford it'," Hotaru mocked her contemptuously.

Mikan groaned. _Figures she would make me pay for her dress,_ she thought resentfully. At least she got Hotaru to actually _buy _something. Mikan mentally gave herself a pat on the back. It wasn't everyday that her cold, difficult friend let her have her way - even if it _did_ have a catch.

One agonizing hour later, the two young women finally found two dresses for themselves (one each) that were to their liking. Now all they had to do was find Sumire and Misaki, which was actually quite hard.

Sumire was bad enough when it came to shopping alone, but when you added Misaki and a date to look forward to, all hell seemed to break loose. Those two took shopping so seriously, it seemed like a professional-level sport.

They went on the internet beforehand to look up all of the sales of their favourite stores. Then, they gave themselves a limit on what they were going to buy (otherwise, they'd have barely any money left afterwards). As soon as that was done, Misaki would wear stylish sweat pants or shorts so that she could run properly, whereas Sumire - who was very skilled in the art of running in high-heels - merely wore a cute skirt. Together, they were like an expert shopping tag-team.

It was the only thing that seemed to freak Hotaru out.

Mikan glanced over at her. "Hey, Hotaru, how are we supposed to find them this time?" she asked. "Last time we went shopping, it took us ages to find the right Misaki! And don't even get me start on Permy." She mentally cringed at the thought of Sumire and her alice at work.

"Don't worry," said Hotaru. "After that last time they made us go shopping, I decided to place a tracking device on both Misaki and Sumire."

She took out a lady bug bracelet from her purse and dexterously began to type a series of codes on its side where a miniature keyboard was placed. Mikan didn't even think it _had_ buttons. Next, Hotaru flipped open the bracelet by flicking the lady bug. An electronic map of the mall appeared, along with two flashing dots, one green, one pink.

"Follow me," she ordered before she started to walk forward at a swift pace, leaving Mikan scrambling behind.

While searching for their friends, Mikan saw more than a few Misaki's running about with multi-coloured bags. When Hotaru didn't stop for them, Mikan had to figure they were only clones.

After nearly five minutes, Hotaru stopped in front of a shoe store, where a Misaki was yelling at the cashier.

"I don't care if it's only for display!" barked Misaki. Her hand slammed down on the counter.

The unfortunate cashier gulped and said, "I'm sorry, miss. But there's nothing I can do-"

"You're in charge here, aren't you?"

"Er, um…not really."

The argument carried on until Hotaru let out a very frustrated-sounding noise. She marched over to Misaki and whispered something in her ear that Mikan couldn't quite catch. Misaki turned to her and said something back, to which the cashier replied to with wide eyes.

Great, now all of them were arguing.

Mikan sighed and walked over to the three of them.

"Come on, guys, you don't need to fight," she said, trying to make peace.

When she noticed that no one was paying her any attention, she turned to Misaki and tapped her on the shoulder. "Misaki, we need to get home now, otherwise we're going to be late for the dinner."

"But I just need to get these shoes! They are so _cute_!" Misaki said, nearly squealing.

Hotaru tilted her head slightly and contemplated her. "You don't even need those shoes, Misaki. You already have far too many so I'm sure that you can find a pair suitable for your dress."

The peach-haired girl let out a small huff and said, "Fine. But just because I don't want to be late." Misaki then turned to the cashier. "If those shoes still aren't for sale when I come back here next week, there _will_ be hell to pay."

Misaki grabbed her bags from the floor. She placed her fingers into her mouth and emitted a loud, screeching whistle. Soon enough, all of her doppelgangers came hurrying back, each with their own set of bags and other merchandise. Misaki nodded at all of them and said, "Okay, I don't have enough room for you guys or the bags in my car. So why don't you guys just walk home, hmm?"

Protests and complaints immediately filled the atmosphere.

"That'll take ages!"

"I don't _want _to walk all the way home!"

One Misaki looked at the other sarcastically. "What, and we do?"

"Shut up and go home already," the real Misaki called out. "The sooner you get walking, the sooner you get home."

Her clones grumbled and slowly made their way to the main entrance of the mall.

Misaki turned and saw Mikan's mouth hanging open and Hotaru's bemused expression.

"How useful," Hotaru said. "I'm impressed."

Mikan was more envious than anything. "How come _your _clones obey you? Mine just get mad at me and make me do even more work than I had before I conjugated them!"

Misaki chuckled at this. "Years and years of practice, my little Miki."

A strange beeping noise sounded from Hotaru's lady bug tracker. She looked down and muttered, "Honestly, Sumire, this is just pitiful." She rotated and started walking away, giving them not a one explanation.

Mikan and Misaki exchanged looks. Without delay, the two of them hurried after the raven-haired woman.

They found her staring-or rather, frowning-at a vent located near the bathrooms. It started shaking violently.

Sumire came bounding out, cat ears and all. She was crouched down onto her 'paws' and used one of them to rub her whiskers. A yowl emanated from her throat and she began to charge towards a store with a sign that read **'50% off'**. That is, she tried to charge towards it, until Hotaru smacked her with an over-sized fly swatter and sent her flying into a brick wall not very far away.

Of course, when Sumire dropped to the ground, she sent a fiery hiss at the edgy inventor and said, "If you ever do that again, I swear to God that I will scratch your face until there's no skin left and-"

"What I'm more interested in is why you have what looks like a nest of shopping bags," interrupted Hotaru, staring at the pile of Sumire's newly-bought clothes in the vent. "I thought that gathering and hiding was more of a rodent thing."

Another hiss.

Mikan sighed, "We don't have time for this, Permy. If we don't hurry, you won't have enough time to do your make up and hair."

This was very effective and even stopped Sumire's hissing.

Sumire took ages to prepare herself 'properly' for a date. According to her, one had to try all of the make up on repeatedly (at least three times) before it was just right. Mikan, Hotaru, and even Misaki thought that Sumire just loved playing dress up and the like. It was actually very comical.

"Oh no!" Sumire gasped. Sprinting on all fours, she snatched all of her shopping bags and began to walk away. "Well? Aren't you coming?" she asked when she noticed that they weren't following her. "Come on, I need to look good for tonight."

Without another word, Sumire left.

Shaking their heads, they followed, and oh how they hated it.

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe you made us go through with this."<p>

Tsubasa let out another frustrated sigh. His friends had been on his back ever since they came up with the idea that this blind date may not be worth seeing Misaki, but only because Natsume and Koko had already met up with her (Natsume more than a few times) and Ruka figured that he could always see her another time. They _really_ hated blind dates.

Only Yuu was polite enough not to complain.

"It's just for one night, guys," said Yuu. Trying to console his friends was a lot harder than one would think.

Tsubasa mentally thanked Yuu.

"That's what you said the last time," returned Natsume. "Remember how that turned out?"

It was literally war. The five girls fought over each and every one of them. They screamed, kicked, slapped, and clawed. It was pretty much a disaster. And to make matters even worse, at the end of the night, Koko kept trying to show off his 'battle scars' that the 'Amazon warriors' gave him. That boy did not know when to shut up.

Even Ruka was with Natsume on this one. "Yeah, Tsubasa. Setting us up with women that you actually _know _is a completely different matter as opposed to…this," he said with a frown.

"You'll thank me when this dinner is done and over with, believe me," said Tsubasa confidently.

He took a swig out of the ice cold water that the waiter had so kindly brought him. At least he got his friends to dress nicely. Each and every one of them were dressed in their own formal fashion and looked decent.

He himself wore a black suit and left the top buttons of his shirt open-he chose not to wear a tie. Yuu was dresses perfectly in his tan suit and little bow tie, which completely clashed with Natsume's dark suit and tie that hung low on his chest (he _never_ wore his tie properly). Ruka looked like the perfect gentleman in his 'man vest,' which Koko had taken to calling it after making fun of Ruka's masculinity.

Koko, on the other hand, was an entirely different story. After Tsubasa had finally convinced him to dress appropriately and conviced Natsume burn his former 'attire' (picture a bald mathematician in a greasy, tweed suit) - which, to be honest, didn't take much persuading - Koko had slugged his way into his own ensemble which consisted of yet another 'man vest.' It seemed that he had become a bit of a fan of vests since Ruka began wearing them.

Tsubasa smirked when he remembered how annoyed Koko was when he couldn't read his mind due to the anti-mind-reading pills he had taken. Central Town truly had its perks.

"Now remember," Tsubasa said to his depressed friends, "this is Misaki, so even if you hate her friends," - _Which I highly doubt, _he thought - "be polite and don't upset her _or_ her friends."

He glared warningly at Natsume who rolled his eyes.

Tsubasa looked at the people around him and asked, "Where the hell is Koko?"

"In the washroom doing God knows what," answered Natsume darkly.

Ruka groaned and said, "This is so unfair. How come Koko gets to skip out?"

"Because he's the only one of us who can act disgusting and not care."

"Ignore Koko," said Tsubasa. "Believe me, after tonight, he'll be kicking himself for not being more…open-minded."

"Or _I'll _be the one kicking him," muttered Natsume.

"You shouldn't be so violent all the time," said Yuu in a calm voice. "It's not good for your blood pressure."

"To hell with my blood pressure-"

"Misaki!" exclaimed Tsubasa, who stood up to embrace her.

The loving couple held pecked each other on the cheeks, both completely missing the reactions of the three young men still seated on their chairs.

Ruka sent panicked looks around the table. Yuu started trembling uncontrollably. Natsume set the kitchen ovens on fire. The blind dates were here.

* * *

><p>Natsume mumbled some very colourful words that left Ruka nodding his head in agreement and Yuu shaking his head in disapproval. Taking in a deep breath, he stood up to greet Misaki and her unwanted friends and was soon joined by Ruka and Yuu.<p>

"Hey, Natsume," she said, giving him a smile.

He nodded in response.

Her attention shifted to his friends. "Yuu, it's been so long! And Ruka, you've gotten so handsome!"

Misaki released herself from Tsubasa's hold and ran over to hug them. They only just started to catch up when a loud complaint could be heard only a few yards away.

"They seriously hurt!" whined a very slender figure, limping in a most pitiable manner.

A stone-hard voice replied, "And _I'm_ going to seriously hurt _you_ if you don't stop being so difficult."

Natsume's expression hardened. Only one voice in this world could sound so emotionless and threatening at the same time. He slid his gaze over to Ruka who looked alarmed.

"I-Imai?" said Ruka as his face paled.

Not surprisingly, Imai came into view, along with a very familiar green-haired girl. They were both dressed nicely, but each of their styles clashed drastically. Shouda sported a bright orange, sequined dress that flashed magnificently. Imai, however, wore a short cocktail dress in black with many purple streaks running through it. On top, she wore her traditional business coat. Her little purse even matched. She was the exact model of sophistication.

_How moving,_ thought Natsume sarcastically.

The reactions of the two women couldn't be more different. Shouda let out a squeal and immediately ran over to embrace Ruka and Yuu (Natsume only let her shake his hand) while Imai merely looked at them, not the least bit startled, and gave them each a nod.

"Hello, Andou," she said with a small smile. "It's been a while. Inchou, you haven't changed one bit."

Yuu blushed slightly and looked down and mumbled a small but polite greeting.

"Nogi," Imai said at last, "I'm surprised to see you."

Ruka, Natsume noticed, was still slightly bitter towards Imai. Natsume couldn't blame him; if Imai had blackmailed _him_ into posing for millions of pictures, he would have killed the girl/monster years ago.

"Good to see you, too," Ruka replied rather stiffly.

Natsume did not miss the look his best friend gave him.

Shouda saw this but merely giggled. "I cannot believe that _you_ guys were our dates all along!"

Yuu nodded, smiling, "I'm surprised to see you guys, too. But I'm glad that we don't have to dine with anyone that we…er, don't know."

Natsume glared at Tsubasa. "So _these_ were our blind dates? Their not even considered as actual dates." He ignored Shouda's different opinion which she oh so helpfully pointed out.

Tsubasa merely laughed and patted him on the back. "I thought it was well worth it. Besides," he quieted his voice, "Koko still doesn't know."

"Hyuuga."

Natsume turned to see Imai staring at him coldly. He stared at her back in response.

She watched him intently, as if he were prey and she the predator, contemplating her next move. He returned the fierce look, the intensity of his gaze increasing by the moment.

Imai let out a small, silent breath. "Don't do anything stupid."

Natsume cocked his brow. That certainly wasn't what he was expecting at all. He decided to ignore this little remark. "Where's Mikan?" he demanded instead.

She just shook her head in mock exasperation. "I see you haven't changed, either. You never were patient."

He growled before Ruka tried to step in. But his anger was short lived, for yet _another _complaint sounded through the air.

"I seriously can't believe you guys just _left_ me out there!"

Natsume dropped his glower and suddenly grinned, turning around to face the new voice.

There she was, huffing in all her violent splendor. Mikan put her hands on her hips and commenced glaring at her friends. She donned a short, pale yellow dress which was very cute. In her hair were butterfly clips that adorned her loose curls. Now _that_ was a woman, neither tramp nor cold-hearted bitch.

Unfortunately, not many people could truly notice Mikan's beauty because her flushed, furious expression that caused most to quiver with fear. Natsume's grin widened when her fuming eyes landed on him. She blinked once, twice, before turning to Tsubasa and saying, "Why is it that _all_ of you guys know Natsume and I only met him just a few days ago?"

Tsubasa and Misaki burst out laughing.

"Sorry, Mikan," said Tsubasa. "Misaki and I wanted to surprise all of you. These guys used to be friends back at the academy…Well, mostly." He gestured to everyone at the table, including her friends.

"We wanted a bit of a reunion, but we knew that Yuu, Ruka, and Koko would already like you so we wanted to invite you, too. And it was already painfully obvious what Natsume thought of you, so we didn't have to worry about him." Misaki gave Mikan a sly wink, which made her blush with embarrassment.

Instead of commenting like he was tempted to, Natsume reached over and gently (not really) pulled on a strand of Mikan's hair. "You've been here for five minutes and you haven't even said hello. What kind of date are you?"

Mikan turned around and huffed, "Well, it's not like you said anything to me, either, so we're even. And this is supposed to be a _group _date. That means that I'm not necessarily your date." She grinned victoriously.

"Too bad. You don't get a say in this."

"Of course I do! It's completely my decision."

"Not necessarily," he returned. "Since _I_ was the one you went on a date with last, that means that you are obligated to be _my_ date. So, no, it's not completely your choice."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know there were actual rules to dating," said Mikan derisively.

"That's okay, as long as you know now."

She looked taken aback, even more so when Natsume. "I was _joking_!"

"Mikan," Shouda said, "just drop it. Trust me."

Natsume gave out a small chuckle when Mikan looked around and realized that most of the members of their group were watching them with bemused expressions.

"Uh, hi, I'm Mikan Sakura," she greeted nicely, albeit slightly shakily. "Nice to meet you guys." Her attention was on Ruka and Yuu now, the only people who she did not know.

"I'm Ruka, Ruka Nogi," Natsume's best friend introduced himself. He gave a charming smile. "And this is Yuu."

Natsume watched as Yuu suddenly grew nervous and said a small, "Hello." He then preceded to twiddle his fingers behind his back.

Natsume's eyes narrowed in thought. Well, that was certainly out of character. Yuu would usually spout some crappy, Hallmark greeting that would make him want to hurl. A few ideas entered his mind about his suddenly shy personality - well, more shy than what was normal.

Tsubasa called out to the group, "Let's order. I'm starving."

Everyone voiced their agreement and sat in the beautiful golden velvet chairs at the table. When Mikan moved to sit next to Hotaru, Natsume lashed out his arm and caught her wrist. She turned around, mouth slightly agape in puzzlement.

"Dates are supposed to sit next to each other," he said simply.

Numbly, she followed him to his desired seat across the table, not missing looks they got from their friends.

Everyone scanned over the menus, murmuring favorable comments at a few dishes. It was then that Koko entered. He had messed up his hair and his beloved 'man vest' was worn crookedly.

"Man," he began loudly, "you guys do _not_ want to go back in there." He gestured carelessly to the restrooms. "I swear to God that's the last time I…eat…_Sumire_?"

"Koko! It's so nice to see you again…in that…" Shouda chewed out, looking him over. Her nose was slightly scrunched up.

Natsume watched as Koko stared at Shouda in wonder while his friends-Tsubasa especially-snickered and laughed into their menus. Koko quickly straightened his vest and tried his best to look-well, better than he looked before.

"It's been a while, Sumire. You guys, too, Misaki and Hotaru." Koko turned towards Tsubasa and nearly hissed. "You tricked me! I thought we were supposed to look out for each other, you little sneak!"

Tsubasa laughed. "I couldn't help it! And if it helps any, none of these guys knew, either," he gestured to Ruka, Yuu, and Natsume. "You were just the only one stupid enough to pull something like this."

Koko muttered something incoherent under his breath. He then moved to Sumire, grinned, pulled out the chair next to her (after smoothly shoving Yuu out of his seat, of course), and immediately started chatting away with her. Sumire, equally happy to see him, obediently complied (all the while Yuu slugged his way into the empty seat next to Imai).

"So Hotaru, what company do you work for?" Yuu asked politely.

Natsume saw Imai spare Yuu a glance over her menu before replying. "I work for myself."

Yuu looked confused. "Wait, don't you work at some big time corporation? You know, with your alice and all."

"I was offered to work for many of those corporate bastards, but it soon became clear to me that I could make a lot more money if I just sold my inventions to all companies-provided they can pay for them, of course."

Misaki let out a small chuckle. "Why don't you elaborate a bit for them, Hotaru."

Imai let out a small sigh and closed her menu. She went in her monotone voice. "Companies will do nearly anything to get their hands on my work. Even mere blueprints that regular humans can't even construct sell for a lot of money. As soon as I finish an invention that I want to sell, I make a record of it on my website where anyone can buy it. Think of it as a silent auction, if you will."

And, as expected, she returned to her menu.

Natsume looked over to Mikan and asked, "Don't those corporate sell-outs know that she's a ruthless, evil bitch and that her products are way more expensive than they should be?"

Mikan frowned at his choice of words but replied nonetheless. "Not really. They're kind of blinded by their 'undying love' for her. Besides, she doesn't even put prices on her little website marketplace. The companies just kind of make it themselves. That's what she said, at least."

"Hm." He said shortly. Even Natsume had to admit that it was a pretty effective way of earning money, if not slightly devious.

"And by the way," she started, "Hotaru is none of those things."

"…I am not having this argument with you."

When the group finally ordered, everyone caught up with each other. Natsume found out that Shouda was a hair stylist who used Alice products. He already knew what Misaki and Mikan did, but his friends - save for Tsubasa - were quite impressed when she told them about her bakery.

Yuu informed Misaki of his job at the Rose Theatre where he earned his keep by entertaining people with his alice. He was actually a little famous, especially around kids. Misaki laughed along with everyone else at the blush that tinted his face.

Ruka and Mikan hit it off from the first word. It seemed that they had a lot in common and immediately felt comfortable around each other. When Ruka told Mikan about his job as a veterinarian, she was all ears. She was a very good listener and was absorbed in everything he said, which Natsume _knew _he appreciated.

And strangely, Natsume couldn't find it in himself to be remotely jealous of the attention Mikan was giving Ruka. He knew the look in Ruka's eyes when he spoke to her, and Natsume could not find one ounce of attraction. How could he be angry at Ruka for becoming friendly with Mikan? Especially when she would constantly turn around, face him, and say, "Wasn't that funny, Natsume?" or something equally pointless.

Besides, it wasn't like he didn't have any time with her for himself. They were able to keep up conversations (mostly arguments) with each other for much longer than he had anticipated. Mikan talked, he listened. Mikan laughed, he nodded. Mikan said something stupid, he insulted her. It was a bit of a cycle, of sorts.

It was only when he noticed the way Yuu stared after Mikan that he felt a small fire kindling deep in his chest. The young illusionist would stare after Mikan in awe, his eyes always slightly open as if he could never stop being amazed by her. Whenever she would say something to him, even if it was just a small question, his cheeks would turn into a soft pink and he would stutter his reply.

And Natsume knew that he wasn't the only one who saw this, either. The only oblivious one was Mikan. Of course.

Narrowing his eyes the slightest bit, he grasped the edge of Mikan's chair and pulled her closer to him, ignoring Mikan's squawk of protest.

Yuu seemed to get the message - thank God - and turned his attention elsewhere, still red in the face.

A delicious aroma floated through the air. The food had arrived. Each and every person had straightened in their seat and waited graciously (not) for their dish.

"Oh, this looks _fantastic_!" Misaki exclaimed, earning a nod from her boyfriend.

Shouda, smiling from ear to ear, agreed. "Oh wow, it smells amazing," she sighed happily.

They all voiced there agreement except Imai who just looked on with stars in her eyes and Natsume, who watched in boredom.

Natsume picked up his fork and tasted some of his lobster. _Not bad. Not bad at all,_ he thought. It was warm and tender, just how he liked it, and the melted butter only added to its flavour.

He focused his attention onto Mikan, who was curiously still not eating. Instead, she was picking at her food with a small frown on her face. Rolling his eyes, Natsume picked up his knife and squashed her seafood salad.

Silence immediately filled the table. He chose to jab at her dish several more times before returning to his lobster, ignoring all the horrified faces he was getting.

Mikan beamed. "Thanks, Natsume!" She spooned some of her salad into her mouth and sighed with bliss.

Natsume nodded. He peered up and saw everyone looking at them in confusion, save for Imai who, after giving him a slight nod of approval, returned to her crab special.

"She has some strange sort of obsession with eating ugly-looking food," he explained carelessly with a wave of his hand.

A ceremonious sound of "Oohs" filled the empty air. Tsubasa laughed especially loudly along with Koko, who had also become quite familiar with Mikan.

It was then that Yuu stood up to go to the washroom, and it was then that an unfortunate waiter carrying several, steaming plates crashed right into him. It was then that Imai lost one of her favourite shirts. It was then that the entire restaurant had gone silent.

* * *

><p>Ruka covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes wide. He felt himself go completely numb with dread and fear. <em>Oh, Yuu<em>, he thought. That poor boy was the last person to deserve this.

Ruka was still staring at Imai. Her eyes were slightly parted in either astonishment or fury, he couldn't tell. Clam chowder was spilt all over her dress and her skin was slightly red from the heat of the creamy soup.

"…Oh my - I'm sosorry, Hotaru!" apologized Yuu quickly. "I-I didn't meant to honest!"

He helped her to her feet, where she investigated the damage. Imai held out the band on her wrist and pressed a series of codes. In just eighteen seconds, a four foot machine of some sort arrived and burst through the doors of the restaurant. It's cylindrical body quivered slightly as it rolled across the floor and approached Imai.

_Of course_, Ruka thought mildly, _Imai would never go anywhere without some sort of contact with her inventions_.

The robot, which was labeled _Clean-O-Matic_ _III_, enlarged its arms and lengthened them so that they stood a whole foot above Imai. Shower curtains unfolded and wrapped themselves around Imai. Violent thrashing shook the plastic curtains and a few seconds later, Imai walked back out, looking perfectly fine. She then turned to the little robot (which returned to its original, short-armed self) and gave it a nod of her head. The chubby little robot bowed as best as it could, turned, and left the building.

The restaurant erupted into a loud applause. Everyone loved to see an alice at work.

Imai gave a polite smile and inspected her attire. Narrowing her eyes, she spoke to Yuu in a hardened tone. "This will stain. You will either pay me back the price of this dress and jacket or purchase new ones in my size. Oh, and you will also have to pay and additional 17% for humiliation tax."

Stunned, Yuu bowed his head and said in a small voice, "Yes, Hotaru."

Pleased, Imai nodded and took his arm. She lead them both to their seat and began eating her crabs immediately.

Ruka cleared his throat and inquired, "Don't your burns hurt, Imai?" He really did not enjoy talking to her one bit, but for everyone else's sake, he figured it would be best for him to be the first to break the awkward tension.

Imai's cold, violet eyes flashed up to look at him, and Ruka had to fight the urge to shiver.

"I have anti-burn ointment on my arms right now. That's what the_ Clean-O-Matic III_ was putting on me in the anti-bacteria shower," she answered.

When she returned to her crabs, Ruka glared at her. How could she be so cold all the time? And the way she treated Yuu was absurd. She treated him like he was just a stranger who spilt soup on her instead of one of her closest childhood friends!

He remembered how she would shamelessly steal pictures of him in elementary school and sell them for her own profit. He wasn't a model for God's sakes! He hated all the extra attention girls would give him when an especially "attractive" photo of him went on sale. All he could do was stand in the sidelines as Imai smirked as she counted her money.

Ruka silently fumed in his seat. He doubted any man could ever satisfy her many needs.

Slowly, he noticed that regular conversation had resumed. Koko and Shouda were still flirting with each other and Misaki, Tsubasa, and Imai were talking about the education system of Tokyo or something, he couldn't really tell.

He faced Mikan and saw that she was currently at war with Natsume. It seemed that they were fighting over who could steal the other's food. He watched as Mikan helplessly tried to steal a bite of Natsume's side salad, only to be stopped by his knife. Natsume's arm snaked around her shoulder and he successfully stole a piece of shrimp from her salad. Ruka chuckled quietly as Mikan threw up her arms in defeat.

He genuinely liked Mikan. She was kind, honest, and didn't flirt with him behind Natsume's back like many other girls. She was also a little childish, which didn't bother him much at all.

Ruka looked on silently as Natsume grinned, having being declared the unofficial winner of the war, and gave a slight smile when Mikan scolded him for stealing yet another bite of her meal when she wasn't looking.

Ruka's smile slipped and he looked away. Someday, he would like to have a relationship like that.

* * *

><p>Ruka walked between Natsume and Mikan to help prevent them from fighting. They had finished dinner and were currently walking through a park that Mikan had teleported them to with her alice.<p>

"Hey guys, I'm going to take Misaki back home. We've got another teachers' meeting tomorrow and we have to wake up early," announced Tsubasa.

Koko snorted. "I honestly don't know why _you_ of all people decided to become a teacher. I can barely wake you up in the mornings even when I try."

Shouda laughed and cuddled closer to Koko, who looked down and grinned.

The shortened party had walked for a mere twenty yards before something caught Shouda's attention.

"Look, a koi pond!" shouted Shouda. Her green eyes shone with excitement. "Mikan, remember when we used to catch fish for the kids at the Alice Festival?"

Mikan laughed and replied, "_I _caught the fish. _You_ stood by while you pulled away the kids from the pool so that they couldn't fall in."

Shouda waved her hand dismissively. "In my opinion, that was the hardest job." She resumed her attention to Koko. "Can we go see it?"

Grinning, Koko faced Ruka, winked, and suggested, "Okay, but it's getting pretty late, so I'll drive you home after."

Shouda conceded and the two left for the little koi pond nearly hidden behind bushes.

Ruka vaguely noticed that he was the only one left besides Natsume and Mikan.

Almost as soon as they left the all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant, a hardware store had caught Imai's eye and, after announcing that she needed supplies and tools, dragged Yuu off towards it.

But strangely, Ruka didn't feel awkward at all. Mikan paid him nearly as much attention as she did Natsume, which easily prevented him from feeling like a third wheel. He sometimes had to play judge during a couple of arguments, but he didn't mind. He liked knowing that both of them cared for his opinion.

He was also grateful that Natsume didn't pull any 'gaga' crap around Mikan and vice versa. Ruka didn't know if he could stomach an entire walk dealing with that. In fact, now that he thought about it, those two acted a lot like friends, as well. There was obvious chemistry, yes, but they didn't seem to feel the need to constantly hold hands and cuddle up to each other.

"I am _not_ some sort of possession, Natsume," Mikan huffed, arms crossed.

Ruka sighed and laughed. This happened twice already. Some guys would look at Mikan, and Natsume would naturally get jealous and pull her away from her shield (Ruka) and press her against him. Even if a man just glanced at her, this would happen, and it really seemed to piss Mikan off.

"You don't need any of that," said Natsume. "Those guys will only cause trouble."

"It wasn't like I was going to fall in love with him or anything. He complimented me on my necklace, I said thank you, end of story!"

Ruka frowned. Mikan seemed to actually be angry, and Natsume didn't seem to pleased either. He tried to calm the two down as they barked insults at each other.

"_Uncle Natsume_!"

All three of them turned to find the new voice. Mikan gasped.

It was Youichi, and he was running from six men in suits while feebly clutching his bleeding arm.

'Please help me," he whimpered.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's<strong> **Note:** DONE! Ugh, that took such a LONG time to write. I'm so sorry to everyone for taking such a long time to update. I'd like to thank Bloodyravenheart13 and many others for getting me off my lazy butt and start writing. I sincerely hope that this chapter was up to par, and I can't WAIT to start writing the next chapter!

Please review! It helps motivate me to write~


	7. Stories

**Dedicated to _poppop_, Surprise! Instead of a note to tell you if I was continuing with this story, I wrote a much-delayed chapter~ Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Stories<strong>

Youichi watched his mother hum to her iPod in the kitchen. She was making dinner right now and it surprised him how she could concentrate on both cooking and making those awful noises at the same time. His mom was terrible at humming, yet he found that he would never tire of it.

Shaking his head in what he believed to be mock exasperation, Youichi returned to his building blocks. He loved his building blocks. He could create massive sky scrapers that reached above his head, and knock them down just as easily just because he wanted to. They were perhaps his favourite toys.

After demolishing his newest piece of work, Youichi heard a soft, whispery voice behind him.

"I see you've gotten even better at making buildings."

He turned his head to give a slight nod and carried on with his work. "What are you doing here this time, Nodacchi?" asked Youichi.

The ghost plopped himself in front of him to get a better view. Nodacchi cocked his neck this way and that as if stretching then smiled down at Youichi.

Youichi had the power to call forth evil spirits, that much was true. But what no one realized yet was that he also had the ability to communicate with the dead. It was something he discovered many months ago when Nodacchi appeared out of nowhere and began talking to him.

"I just came for another visit, that's all. It gets rather lonely in the spirit world, and none of the other spirits seem to enjoy my company," replied Nodacchi rather pitifully.

"That's because you always leave without telling. Anyone would get mad at that."

Nodacchi chuckled and said, "I can't help when my alice reacts. But it's very curious how some alices stay intact even after death, isn't it?"

Youichi gave no reply. Instead he returned his attention to his building blocks. He was just about finished his third tower when the meddlesome ghost suddenly asked, "So have you met your Aunt Mikan yet?"

"I did. I like her bakery." He put down his big red block and looked at Nodacchi. "Do you know for sure that she and Uncle Natsume will get married?"

"Of course they will, you just watch. We just have to make sure everything unfolds as planned."

"But you never told me your plans," informed Youichi.

Nodacchi looked surprised. "I didn't? Oh, well then, I suppose I'll have to tell you now." He leaned down and smiled. "The only thing in the future that's keeping them from getting married is the ESP. Remember him? He's the man-child who -"

"- Killed Auntie Mikan's parents and put her in jail. Yes, I know."

"The thing is," he continued patiently, "Mikan and her friends were never granted permission from the ESP to leave Alice Academy–they spent almost an entire year just to figure out how to escape with a full-proof plan. Part of their plan involved quite a bit of violence. Because of that, Mikan pretends that they walked out of the academy without any problems. I think they call that kind of thinking denial?" Nodacchi scratched his head as he often did when he was confused. "But I have to admit that I was very confused for a while. That little Mikan and her stories," he laughed and shook his head. "Anyways, in the end Mikan had to use her alice to entrap the ESP in a frozen solution that is nearly impossible to break through or even melt."

"So now the ESP's team figured out how to get him out and he'll want revenge or something?" Youichi asked, his brow quirked.

"Something like that."

"Hm."

"Yes, big 'hm'. The problem is that I can't seem to get into the right time dimension to figure out exactly what's going to go on in that brain of his."

Youichi regarded Nodacchi carefully. "How come this happened to me," he grumbled.

Nodacchi gave a small laugh and replied, "Because you're the perfect candidate. Since you can summon evil spirits and communicate with the dead, you were the only one I could warn about the ESP. And your age wasn't even as much of a barrier as I thought. All I had to do was take you back into my time and learn a few things from my academy years."

Youichi looked away suddenly and returned to building his blocks. After several moments, he said, "A lot of people think I'm even weirder than I am because of it. And it's all your fault." He glared at him accusingly.

Though he tried to pretend that it didn't bother him – he really did. But it was hard sometimes. Being an outcast was the worst. It gave you a horrible feeling inside, the kind that ate at you and never seemed to leave you alone. It made you feel hollow and triggered unwanted thoughts, like how no one could ever look at you without fear, hatred, or pity in their eyes.

The older man looked at him sympathetically. He knew the difficulties alices like him had to go through – especially if they had a mind as fine as his. It was truly a wonder how Natsume had been able to keep Youichi away from the academy up until now.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I didn't want things to end this way for you either," he said sincerely. "But look on the bright side, at least now you're not in the -"

Nodacchi's already transparent for began to wither.

Youichi felt a small stir of panic and anger. "Wait, you can't just leave like that! It's not -"

But he was already gone.

Youichi slumped against the floor, eyes downcast. He really wanted to know the rest of that sentence. But whenever Nodacchi got cut off from one of his unexpected time travels, he rarely ever remembered what he was saying before. Feeling dejected and lonelier than ever, he did the only thing he could think of: building skyscrapers.

He stayed that way for five minutes until he heard his mother call out for supper, to which he silently stood and walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>Youichi glared up rebelliously into the scarlet eyes of his mother. "No."<p>

Dinner had already passed, and his mother was trying to get him to do his God-awful chores again.

Aoi sighed and dropped the garbage bag into Youichi's unwillingly outstretched arms. "I know you don't want to, but I already told you, Mister. You have to start helping around the house. It's high time you learned some responsibility." She gently pushed him towards the door. "Now put that just outside our door like I said. Sasuki already agreed to start putting our garbage away for us."

Grimly, Youichi did as his mother said and walked to the door. He opened the door and plopped the smelly bag to his right.

He vaguely heard the air shift silently and he looked up to see Nodacchi sprinting towards him.

"Nodacchi, what's the matter?"

He grabbed at Youichi's shoulders and shoved him towards the stairs. "You have to run! They're almost here!"

Youichi, alarmed and confused, could only run with him and demand, "Who's coming?" When Nodacchi didn't answer, he stopped completely and said in a low voice. "_Nodacchi!_"

The infuriating man finally crouched before him and answered, "The men from Alice Academy, the fuukitai. They're coming for you!" Nodacchi proceeded to drag Youichi towards the stairwell. "You have to get away!"

"But my mother –"

"Is safe," he finished. "The ESP has no interest in her yet. They won't touch her so long as they don't need her. Hurry – I'll distract them. Youichi," he lowered his voice. "I know this is hard. But you have to trust me."

Youichi nodded, not knowing what else to do.

Nodacchi gave him one last kind smile. "Now run."

Without delay, he sprinted down the stairwell. He ran as fast as his short legs could carry him. Jumping off the very last step, he ran to the front door and onto the streets. Youichi panted heavily.

He couldn't rely on any of the regular humans – they wouldn't be able to stop the fuukitai if they tried. No, he was on his own. He didn't even have Nodacchi with him this time. It was all he could do not to break down right then.

Gasping for breath, Youichi ran through the crowds of bodies one at a time, pushing and pulling as he went. He stopped for a short moment to catch his breath.

"Over there! Behind the man with the trench coat!"

This was more than enough to get Youichi moving again. Fear gripped his gut and refused to let go. He stumbled against the pavement and tumbled to the ground. Ignoring the worried voices of passerby's, he grumbled slightly and continued running, his heavy shoes scuffing against the ground.

It seemed that people had begun to notice him – a small child – being chased by a group of grown men. Youichi heard people try to stop the fuukitai, only to be pushed out of the way or cruelly punched in the gut.

Youichi gasped as he felt himself being lifted from the ground. He kicked and flayed his arms about, desperately trying to get free.

"It's okay!" came a man's voice. "I'm going to help you!"

"No!" Youichi objected, finally having stopped kicking, "They'll hurt you! Just let me go!"

When the man refused, he saw no other option but to use his alice. The fuukitai were getting closer. Youichi tried to get his alice to hurry up. Finally, the man dropped him in favour of swatting the evil spirits clouding around his head. He screamed and commenced fleeing as fast as he possibly could. Grinning, Youichi summoned more spirits and sent them after the fuukitai, who didn't react much better than the man before.

He started to run again, successfully avoiding any approaching obstacles. His chest clenched itself and pain soon followed. Youichi felt his remaining energy slipping away, but he kept running anyway, mentally thanking Nodacchi for his training exercises.

Purple light flowed around him. Youichi could only watch as his feet left the ground and his body turned in tight circles. Faster, faster, and faster. He yelled loudly and extended his hand, trying to hold onto something as he floated uselessly in limbo.

Youichi opened his eyes. Green flooded his vision, and it didn't take him long to realize that he was in the park. Groaning, he sat up and took in his surroundings. Just a few feet away from him lay a member of the fuukitai rubbing his back. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had a rough time with the teleportation. At once, he summoned an evil spirit to distract the man.

Youichi tried to get up and get away but his legs failed him and he plunged to the ground. A sharp pain told him that he cut himself on one of the rocks below him. Gasping, he clutched his arm and slowly returned to his feet. The only thing left that kept him going was adrenaline – but even that was fading in favour of exhaustion. He took slow steps, trying to remain on his feet but having trouble finding the will to move faster. He was so tired.

Yells erupted from behind him and he strained to move faster, but to no avail. His legs stopped working.

Voices – he heard familiar voices. Looking up, Youichi saw Uncle Natsume, Uncle Ruka, and Auntie Mikan.

He swallowed in attempt to moisten his throat before shouting, "_Uncle Natsume!_ Please - help me!"

Then he collapsed.

* * *

><p>Once Natsume registered the situation, he snapped. He dashed towards Youichi and, after stepping in front of him, set a wall of fire around him. Ruka, he noticed, had called two hawks to peck at the fuukitai's eyes whenever they could get at him. Natsume sent one punch after another, having never forgetting to exercise his already trained body. He jumped high and set fire to one of the men who dared to strike his head. None of the fuukitai's alices had anything against him, which was strange.<p>

Natsume glanced over to Youichi and focused back on the fuukitai, having found that Mikan was with him. He threw one last punch at a fuukitai until he heard them yelling to each other about teleportation and escape. _Hell no,_ Natsume thought viciously. But before he could make a move to stop any of the men, Mikan stood up.

She took a deep breath and cast tinkling, white shimmers that scattered themselves around the area. _Hold your breath and close your eyes, _Mikan's voice whispered in Natsume's head. He took a deep breath and obliged.

When he opened his eyes again, he found that Ruka had been doing the same thing he was. Natsume's eyes flickered at the scene before him. Two of the fuukitai were left which could only mean that the rest had gotten together fast enough to teleport before Mikan's shimmers could take full effect. The remaining hateful men were sprawled on the ground sleeping. Moving swiftly, Natsume kicked one of them in the side. It didn't wake him, as he had suspected, but it did a good deal to settle his nerves.

"Natsume, come here for a moment."

Remembering his nephew, he immediately ran to Mikan's side where she was cradling the small child in her lap. He ran his fingers through Youichi's soft silver bangs, sliding them away from his face.

"How long has the Academy been after him?" Mikan asked softly.

"Half a year, give or take a couple of months."

She gazed at Youichi thoughtfully.

He slept soundly, his soft breathing reassuring Natsume of his wellbeing. He'd have to fix up that nasty cut of his soon before it became infected. He didn't even want to think how long he had been running from the fuukitai. And where the hell was Aoi during all this?

"This wasn't the ESP's doing." Mikan spoke up again. "That's the only reason why such amateur men were sent. It might not have even been planned so much as a bout of spontaneity. Otherwise, he might not have gotten away."

They remained unspoken until Ruka, who had been tying up the two men with delivered rope from his hawks, probed, "What are we going to do? We can't let the academy have him – he'll be treated like a lab rat!"

A broken sigh caught both his and Ruka's attention.

"My uncle is the HSP. Did I ever tell you that, Natsume?" Mikan looked at him but carried on. "The MSP, Shiki, is also a guardian and good friend of mine. They told me before I left Alice Academy that they had plans to take the ESP out of power and terminate him for good. But before he's dead, they can't make many changes to the academy, at least, not any changes that will make a difference. But they told me about life at the academy they're trying to make. My uncle even asked my opinion for several things about the students' freedom and stuff. And the life that they're planning sounds…_good_. It's just and safe. Shiki's even arranging different ways to let the students home on holidays." She looked at them both with a solemn expression. "My point is, alices need to be trained to control their power. Or else they might get dangerous. If Alice Academy turns out to be a place like my uncle and Shiki are planning, then it won't be a prison like it is now. Maybe then, sending Youichi there won't be so bad."

Natsume glared at her hard. His expression was icier than she had ever seen it. "Alice Academy is a toxic hellhole that will swallow up anyone inside it. It doesn't matter if the ESP is gone. Do you really think that the MSP would just let the students home during the holidays? Just like that? Or that your uncle won't become obsessed with his newfound power?" He gave her a belittling look. "You can't seriously be that stupid."

"Natsume!" Ruka admonished.

A look of hurt flashed through Mikan's eyes. Scowling, she snapped, "Uncle Kazu and Shiki always keep their words. You don't know anything about them, how could you make such accusations!?"

Natsume snorted. "Anyone tied that closely to Alice Academy isn't trustworthy. In fact, I bet that they were just using you when they asked you about your opinion on the academy."

"They would never do such a thing!"

"Oh yeah? Prove it," he dared.

"I don't have to prove it because there's nothing to prove!"

Natsume chuckled coldly. "Well, obviously you're too thick and blinded to think like any _normal_ person would. But hey, as long as you're happy, right?"

Mikan's face was flushed with rage, but Natsume was too angry himself to care. How could anyone be so naïve to believe that Alice Academy could be a good, happy, fairy tale place? What a load of shit. He couldn't believe that even after all the things that academy put her through, Mikan still trusted it.

After closing her eyes, Mikan produced a bright purple alice stone. She regarded it closely for a moment before promptly pushing it inside Youichi.

"What are you doing?" Natsume demanded. He reached over and pulled Youichi away from her just as she finished.

Mikan stood and turned away coldly. "Before I left, Shiki told me that a long time ago, he promised my mother that we would protect both her and me. Even after she died, he was there for me. He gave me his barrier alice stone to keep me away from the academy. That stone was probably the only thing that kept me safe from the ESP and the fuukitai. Just don't forget that it will fade after a while," she explained curtly.

Natsume looked on as Mikan walked off a ways and teleported out of the park. He looked down at Youichi's sleeping face and hugged him closer. She gave him a barrier stone. It would keep him safe. The one thing that was protecting her from the ESP, and she had given it to Youichi. Natsume knew it wasn't just to 'prove a point'.

His gaze lingered on the ground. He let his anger get the better of him and snapped at Mikan. He wasn't dumb, he saw the way she blinked fast to keep her tears from falling. He saw how hurt she was because of him. And then she had to go and make him feel worse by giving Youichi her only form of protection – her gift from her mother's friend.

"You," Ruka interrupted his thoughts, "are an ass."

For once, Natsume didn't disagree.

* * *

><p>Mikan collapsed on her bed, too worn out to even change out of her ruined dress. She used up too much of her alice and felt utterly depleted. She crossed her arms over her head and turned onto her stomach.<p>

Natsume's disgusted face filled her mind. She growled into her pillow. Struggling to keep her emotions in check, she was too preoccupied with her thoughts to hear the door open and close.

How could he say those things to her? He didn't even hesitate for a second when he said that Uncle Kazu was no better than the ESP. Mikan couldn't understand why he acted the way he did. Was it something she said?

Mikan felt a soft pat on her shoulder and lifted her head. It was Mr. Bear.

Quickly, she put on a smile and chirped, "I'm sorry, Mr. Bear. Did I wake you?"

He looked at her with unreadable eyes, all the while rubbing her shoulder absently. He then lifted her arm and snuggled against her body. Mr. Bear looked up at her with questioning eyes.

Mikan let out a soft laugh. "Thank you. And don't worry – I'll be alright. I'm just angry, that's all."

She pulled him closer to her and began telling him everything from start to finish. She let out all her feelings of frustration and hurt. She used to do this all the time when she was locked up in Alice Academy. Mr. Bear was always a good listener and surprisingly patient.

When Mikan finished, she looked at his eyes searching for answers. "How am I supposed to take this? I know I should be upset but I just – I don't know if maybe I'm overreacting or something."

Mr. Bear regarded her with beady eyes.

"Okay," agreed Mikan, "I'll just wait it out. If he apologizes, then perhaps I'll forgive him. If not, well then we'll just have to see what happens."

She yawned. Snuggling deeper into her bed and pulling the blankets over her head, she wished Mr. Bear a good night and went to sleep. That night, she dreamed of hollow eyes and blood – so much blood.

* * *

><p>It had been nearly a week since Ruka last heard from Mikan. The same went for Natsume, the stubborn fool.<p>

Ruka sighed. After returning Youichi to his grief-stricken sister (who also called the police), Ruka had asked Natsume how he was going to apologize. Naturally, his friend had given him a dark look and walked away. Something told him that if he were to chase after him, it would not have ended well. Thus, he returned to his own place not ten minutes away.

Even when Natsume calmed down, no matter how many times Ruka hassled him about apologizing to Mikan, the result was always the same. Anger, exasperation, bouts of harsh denial – the works. Natsume was the kind of person whose pride wasn't used to admitting to being wrong. 'Sorry' just wasn't in his mind's vocabulary, unless it was directed at him, of course.

Finally, Ruka decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. Since he didn't feel obligated to tell Koko, Tsubasa, or Yuu about the incident, he drove to _Sakura's Bakery_ alone.

The place was just as Youichi described it: big. Ruka took his time studying all the odd, edible creations Mikan's bakery sold. He hadn't seen food like this since he left the academy. It did bring back some memories, though. Like the first time he had bought swirly dunks (a type of pastry) and shared them with Natsume, or when Imai caught him sucking on a large pink lolly (watermelon was his favourite) with googly eyes and made millions.

Mood successfully darkened, Ruka slipped past the crowd and waited in line at the cash register. However, he couldn't resist snatching one of the fluorescent candy cones. Those were just too tempting.

He was very surprised when, upon reaching the counter, he was greeted by a cylindrical, purple automaton dressed in frilly lace.

"One candy cone," it said in a monotone voice. "That will be 750 yen."

Ruka nodded and handed over the money while studiously inspecting the automaton. _This is definitely Imai's work_, he thought with narrowed eyes.

"Thank you for your purchase. Please come again, sir."

After thanking the automaton, Ruka asked it where he might find Mikan.

"What is your business with Miss Mikan?" it asked as curiously as it could manage.

"Oh, I'm just a friend. Er, Ruka? Ruka Nogi," he stammered slightly.

"Miss Mikan doesn't have you in her record books. I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to either have an appointment or be in the records in order to meet with her," informed the automaton. It didn't look as if any amount of charming would work on the robot's cold, metal heart, either.

Sighing, Ruka nodded and muttered a quick, "Alright then," before walking out of the line.

As he made his way to the front of the door, he looked down at the bouquet of daisies in his hand. He bought those especially for Mikan in hopes that it would better her opinion of him and (maybe even) Natsume. She was an enjoyable person and was great for conversation – not to mention she could make him laugh like no other. Ruka had planned that once they became better friends, he could somehow help Natsume patch things up with her.

So of course the only way to do that would be to go behind the automaton's back and meet up with Mikan in secret.

In an attempt to be nonchalant, Ruka put both arms behind his back and walked towards the end of the store. He pretended to look interested in the baked goods around him as he slowly made his way to the kitchens where he felt sure Mikan was at.

It was when he started whistling that he realized just how suspicious and weird he must have looked. Well, that and the strange looks he was getting from a few parents.

Ruka straightened and used his pheromones to call six white mice that tottered over to him. _Scout the area for guards or traps_, he ordered mentally. The mice nodded, hearts in their eyes, and scattered around the area. Ruka quickly busied himself by looking at some decorative cookies. When the mice returned, he looked around before picking one up and holding it up to his ear.

_Alice detectors – only alices or people who know the code can enter,_ it squeaked in his ear.

Ruka thanked the mice and patted its head. He set it down and strolled down to the kitchen doors.

Making sure the flowers were nice and pretty, he marched right into the kitchen.

He certainly didn't expect to see his old friend Anna beating a lump of green muck with a rolling pin.

"…Anna?"

She looked up and beamed. "Ruka! Oh, it's so nice to see you again! What are you doing here?" she asked innocently.

It seemed that she didn't notice the green mess that was currently plastered all over her body. Or maybe she was just that used to it.

"Um, I'm here to see Mikan," answered Ruka. "Do you happen to know where she is?"

With one final smack at the green muck, Anna wiped her hands on her apron (not that it made much difference) and pointed to the very back of the room. Ruka finally noticed the red door she was pointing at. "That's her office. She's probably in there right now."

Ruka smiled politely. "Thanks. But, are you the only baker who works here?"

To his relief, Anna laughed. "No, there are two other bakers who work here with me. Problem is, only one of them has an alice and it's not even similar to mine. It's more centered on decorating cakes and pastries. And I'm not even sure if we could work half as efficiently as we do if it weren't for Hotaru's automatons. Those things are a life saver." She seemed to realize she was rambling and flushed. "Not that you asked or anything…"

Ruka laughed. "Thanks again, Anna. I'll see you later."

He headed off to Mikan's office and knocked on the door, carefully dodging the stoves and stacks of sugar and flour piled on the floor. He absently noticed one of the bakers Anna was talking about throwing out a single stack of flour muttering, "I swear I'm gonna _murder _him…Never checks the expiration date on _anything_."

Ruka raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. When he reached the door, he hesitantly knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Doing as he was told, he smiled when he saw the familiar brunette seated at a wooden desk doing paperwork. Her office was modest in size, with a few decorative pictures hanging on the walls. The wooden desk was faced towards the door in a typical fashion and the red couch settled at the side completed the 'homey' feel that Mikan had obviously tried to obtain in her office.

She looked up at him, startled. "Ruka?" She suddenly grinned. "What are you doing here?"

Mikan put down her pen, hurried over and gave Ruka a big hug. The two settled themselves on the couch.

Ruka smiled. "I haven't heard from you in a while and I got a little worried. I wanted to visit you earlier but I haven't had the time." He smiled sheepishly and handed her the daisies. "Here, as an apology…you know, for the other day."

He immediately regretted saying anything when Mikan scowled.

"If he sent you here to apologize," she started heatedly, "then you can tell him to shove –"

"No! I came here on my own!" Ruka shouted hurriedly, waving his arms furiously. "I just wanted to talk to you, I swear."

He inwardly chided himself for being so dense. Obviously Mikan would think that Natsume had used him to apologize in his place – the coward's way out. How could she think otherwise?

Mikan lowered her head looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Ruka. I'm just still mad at Natsume."

"Don't worry about it, Mikan. I don't blame you for thinking that," he amended. "But I really am sorry for what Natsume said. It's just that he was – he wasn't treated right at the academy. It was hard for him and he changed. It isn't my story to tell, but all I'm saying is what you told us made something in him snap. Not that I'm saying what he did was justified or anything," Ruka added hastily. "I'm just saying that when he finally gets his head out of his ass and apologizes, give him a chance, okay?"

Mikan looked at him for a second before smiling slightly. "You really care about him, don't you? You two kind of remind me of me and Hotaru."

Ruka frowned. He never wanted to be linked to that vindictive witch.

"That's actually one of the reasons why I came to talk to you," he said slowly. "Mikan, why do you even like Imai?"

To his surprise, Mikan merely laughed. Finally, she regained focus and gave him a sincere smile. "Hotaru is a better person than you think. Believe me. Listen, I'm kind of busy with work right now, but how about you pick me up at 5:30 and I promise I'll explain everything."

"Alright."

Mikan beamed and led him out of her office. "Good. By the way, thanks a bunch for the flowers!"

* * *

><p>"<em>I can't believe you're having an affair with Natsume's girlfriend!<em>"

"For the last time, it's not a date!" Ruka shouted angrily into the phone.

He was on his way to pick up Mikan and was currently on the phone with Koko. Deciding it would be better to walk than to drive, Ruka thought he might as well tell one of his friends about the whole ordeal. What he couldn't figure out was why on earth he had thought that Koko was a good candidate.

"_But still! You're not telling him about it so it comes across as rather…sneaky…_"

"Let it go, Koko!" Ruka heaved a loud sigh, taking no notice of the dreamy looks a young woman was giving him. He lowered his voice. "There's something I need to find out about Imai. How could Mikan be best friends with that monster? They're polar opposites!"

"_Are you still on about that? Listen buddy, Imai may be an icy psychopath who made you miserable in school, but she's still the person Mikan chose to be her friend and there must be a reason for that. So why don't you just forget about it and move on?_"

"Because what if Mikan just doesn't know how awful and shameless Imai is? Face it, that woman is no good for her. She'll corrupt Mikan and ruin this perfect opportunity for Natsume."

Ruka was truly honest in his intentions. He was curious as to why Mikan was so loyal to Imai and what their history together was. And if along the way he proved that Imai wasn't the kind of person Mikan shouldn't be friends with, all the better. She was too good for Imai.

"_Whatever, Ruka. But I still think that you're acting like a paranoid wife._"

Ruka groaned. Koko was being especially annoying today. "Okay, I'm at the bakery. I'll see you later."

"…_Are you sure it isn't a date?_"

"Oh for God's sake!"

Ruka hung up, glowering. Stalking into the empty bakery, he looked around before spotting Mikan.

"Mikan!" he called.

She turned and waved. "Hey Ruka! I'll be there in just a second."

He nodded and leaned against the doorframe. He had to admit, he was anxious as to what Mikan was going to say about Imai. _Probably not much_, he thought. He saw the way Imai treated her at the restaurant and it wasn't admirable in any way.

"Okay, I'm ready," said Mikan.

Ruka looked up. Mikan had a light jacket on and was patiently waiting for him. He smiled politely and opened the door for her.

"So," Mikan started, "what exactly do you have against Hotaru?"

Ruka spluttered. "Are you kidding me? That woman is a she-devil!" He completely forgot about being polite – that often happened when he talked about Imai. "She acts as if everyone around are nothing but tools to be used over and over again. She's a selfish, selfish person. She's bitter and cruel and unforgiving – definitely not trustworthy."

He was venting and he knew it, but he couldn't care less. He was honestly baffled as to why Mikan accepted her and liked her so much.

Hence his dumbfounded expression when Mikan started giggling.

"…Why are you laughing?"

She struggled to regain her composure, muffling down her laughs. "Because now I know just how bad she is at giving first impressions. That's exactly what I said when I first met her."

Ruka gave her a puzzled look. "Then what happened to make you even _want _to be friends with her?"

"It wasn't something I planned, really. I was pretty young when she first came to my school. Everyone thought she was so cool, what with her smarts and all. I guess I was kind of jealous," she admitted. She seemed very fond of her memories of Imai. "One day, she came up to me and asked me to join a competition with her. She said, 'With two cute girls like us, there's no way we could lose'. After that, I started to notice all the good things she did that nobody else ever saw. It was also obvious that she was just as childish as the next kid. But my guess is that she was forced to grow up early. I swear to God, I've never seen anyone so incapable of sharing as Hotaru, especially when it comes to food."

Ruka listened earnestly. Mikan's words were so genuine it was hard not to.

"Then when the academy started going after us, Hotaru went with them by her own choice. I was so angry and confused. I just didn't understand why she would leave me like that. But then my mother told me that she was trying to protect me. That she thought if she went with the academy, then they would leave me alone – at least for a little while. And they did." Mikan's tone was muted now, as if she was troubled by the very things she was telling him.

"And when my mother died, Hotaru was so understanding and supportive – I know I owe her so much for what she's done for me, and I'll never leave her side just as she will never leave mine. I know that we make fun of each other a lot and that she uses me as a guinea pig for a lot of her inventions, but that's just how we are, you know?"

Ruka sighed, giving up all thoughts of convincing Mikan of re-thinking her friendship with Imai. "Yeah, I guess," he responded at last. "But she always used me as merchandise or something back in school. Imai caught me at my most embarrassing moments and sold pictures of me all over the school. It was her fault that everyone treated me as some sort of doll to be coddled," he said resentfully.

"Really? She did the same to me. She must've really approved of you," she remarked, grinning at him widely.

"Wait, what?"

"Hotaru used to always take pictures of me and sell them to people as calendars and stuff. I thought I was her only model, but looks like I was wrong."

Ruka winced at the mischievous smile she kept giving him. "But if she 'approved' of me, why did she act as if I was only a means for money?"

Mikan shrugged. "I can't tell you everything about Hotaru, can I? If you really want to know, you can ask her yourself. But before you do, think about this," she said. "Why didn't she ever take pictures of Natsume? From what Anna and Sumire tell me, he was the most popular boy in school."

Ruka stopped and chuckled. "I doubt using Natsume as an unwilling model would have ended well."

"But Hotaru should've at least taken a few holiday pictures if she really wanted to. Believe me, that girl isn't intimidated by anybody."

This was entirely true. No matter how many times Ruka tried to reason with her or make her feel guilty about exploiting him, she never batted an eye.

As he continued to think over what he had just learned, Mikan spoke up again. "If you really want to see Hotaru's good side for yourself, then follow her into town tomorrow."

Ruka stared at her, alarmed. "_What!?_"

"It won't be called stalking if you're just doing it for one day," she reasoned. "But you don't have to do it if you don't want to."

He grumbled something incoherent under his breath.

Mikan gave him a lot to think about. He was going to need some time (and possibly some help) to digest what she just told him. He had a hard time believing Imai did those things for Mikan. And there was absolutely no way he was going to follow her around for an entire day. Just the thought had his stomach churning unpleasantly.

"Hey Ruka, how's Youichi?" Mikan asked suddenly.

After a moment, Ruka answered, "He's good. A lot better, actually. He seems to understand what the alice stone you gave him does. His mom, Aoi, was so relieved when we took him home. She was crying when we told her what you did." He gave her a sincere look. "Thank you, by the way - on all their behalves." He was talking about Natsume's and Aoi's of course.

Mikan shook her head. "I was just trying to help Youichi. But Ruka…I was wondering if you could tell me about Natsume?" She looked up at him anxiously. "I just wanted to know what the academy did to him."

Ruka thought long and hard. There were so many reasons why not to tell her, but he couldn't help it. She deserved to know at least something. So he told her about him and Natsume, about how they got to the academy and stuck together. He told her all he could. He only left out a few details.

Some things Natsume would have to tell her himself.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Note:<span> GAH! I can't believe it took me so long to update! God, I'm sorry about the wait, guys. **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it was up to your expectations! There were two people who pointed out quite a few errors and/or mistakes to me (though one of them was intentional, the others were just embarrassing) and I would like to thank them. So a big round of applause to _Ithaca the Bookworm_ and _hello! If anyone sees any mistakes or things about the story that bug the hell out of you, don't hesitate to let me know!_**

**Please review and let me know what you think! **


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